



Class. R At 7G 
Book_ 

Copyright iN°_ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 


























































































































. 






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































4 








j 




✓ 



* 


4 

















P 




» 



















G. 

* 









« 
























-yy/y 


■ 


•>y. :• * . • '$/ 1 v W><^,v; 


>»W-# 


1118111 




m®. 


. 






mmm 










■ ■■■■ 






to:-f 


= 335 $ 






--• ■ 




1 








ftS 




1888 

|g' ^ m 


m 

. m 






GAY M. BRUNSON, M. S M M. D., D. D. S 








HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


A Key to a Long and Healthy Life 


-By- 

GAY M. BRUNSON, M. S., M. D., D. D. S. 


Published by the Author 
Joliet, Illinois 
1923 



'RAI* 


Copyright 1923 
BY 

GAY M. BRUNSON 
All rights reserved. 



PRESS OF 

S. A. BREWSTER & SON 
JOLIET. ILL. 


OK 31 *23 


©C1A7C5541 

•w O | 



To my only brother, Dr. E. E. Brunson, to whom 
I am indebted for many valuable suggestions derived 
from his long and successful experience as a practicing 
physician, this volume is gratefully dedicated by 
the author. 



PREFACE 


I am firmly convinced that one half of the sick¬ 
ness in the world could be removed by right living. I 
do not make this statement hastily, but only after years 
of study, research and experimentation not only by 
myself, but by many others. 

Some years ago my health began to give way, and 
a complete breakdown stared me in the face. I tried 
medical treatment under various noted physicians, and 
while I occasionally noted a temporary improvement, 
I found that I was getting weaker. 

I then began to study the works of some noted 
men in regard to proper diet. I adopted some of their 
methods,, and soon saw that I was on the right track. 
I continued this study and soon found myself complete¬ 
ly restored. Then I told my friends and patients, 
many of whom found the suggestions very helpful. 
I began to spread the gospel of right living and good 
health, speaking to clubs, societies and on the Chau¬ 
tauqua course. Many have asked me if I had any 
literature on this subject, and it is because of this re¬ 
quest that I have been induced to write this book. 

I wish here to make a short quotation from the 
preface of that splendid work, '‘Old Age Deferred,” 
by Arnold Lorand of Carlsbad, Austria. “Whoever 
takes up this book with the idea that the aged can be 


8 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


transformed into sprightly adolescents will be dis- 
pointed. A work based entirely on evidence of a 
scientific nature, as is the present volume, cannot have 
such an end in view, since it is altogether unattainable, 
at least with the knowledge now available. But while 
it is still impossible for us to create a young man out 
of an old one, it is quite within the bounds of pos¬ 
sibility, as we shall endeavor to demonstrate herein, 
to prolong our term of youthfulness by 10 to 20 
years. In other words, we need no longer grow old 
at 40 or 50; we may live to the age of 90 or 100 years, 
instead of dying at 60 or 70. 

“All this can be brought about by the observance 
of certain hygienic measures, and by improving the 
functions of a certain few of the glandular structures 
in our body, provided incurable organic disorders have 
not too gravely compromised one or more of our main 
organs.” 

Dr. Lorand makes the above statement after 
many years of scientific research on how to prevent 
premature old age, in consultation with some of the 
writings of the most noted men in Europe. 

It should induce every one to aid this cause of 
spreading the gospel of good health, when we know 
that a quarter of a million children in the United States 
of America die every year, before they have reached 


PREFACE 


9 


ten years of age, on account of improper food, and 
unhealthy environment. 

Not only are there a quarter of a million dying 
each year, but many times that number are handicap¬ 
ped by impaired health thru life, by improper living 
and eating food that has been deprived of its natural 
life giving mineral salts. Many young people at 20 
or 25 years of age are not as strong or as well as they 
should be at 50. 

In this short work I have endeavored to gather 
the conclusions and experiences from many noted 
writers and to accept only those conclusions that seem 
more or less prevalent among writers, and which con¬ 
form to the experience of myself and my friends, but 
still more important those things which have been 
found to be true by successful practicing physicians 
who have devoted their lives to the study of these 
subjects. 

I fully appreciate that my manner of presenting 
this subject may appear crude and radical, but I sim¬ 
ply ask my reader to withhold judgment until he has 
read this book. 1 have already helped quite a large 
number of people to get back on the great highway 
of good health, and I shall feel amply repaid for my 
efforts if I can only reach a larger number of people. 

I want the parents of boys and girls to realize that 
the greater part of sickness among our young people, 


10 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

aside from contageous diseases and injury, can be 
removed if they will only give their children the pro¬ 
per food and surroundings. Always remember that 
the stomach is not a playhouse, but a work room, and 
that it can use only what we supply. 

For the benefit of those who might want to con¬ 
tinue the study of these subjects further in detail than 
I could possibly go into in this small book, I will give 
a list of books and authors from whom I gathered a 
part of my information in the last chapter of this book. 

I have a vision that if we could have an organi¬ 
zation of these noted men and all the rest of my co¬ 
workers who are interested in spreading the gospel 
of good health, that we might, through the press and 
the pulpit, through all civic bodies and those individ¬ 
uals interested in health, reach far greater numbers. 
Where we now reach thousands we could then reach 
millions, and our living would be made an even greater 
blessing to our fellow men. 

November, 1923. GAY M. BRUNSON. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER pAGE 

I. Remarkable Examples.11 

II. Foods and Balanced Ration ... 22 

III. Protein .25 

IV. Fats.35 

V. Carbohydrates.37 

VI. VlTAMINES AND MENUS.48 

VII. Remarkable “Poison Squad”. 

500 Sailors on German Raider . . 69 

VIII. Digestion.74 

IX. Water.85 

X. Beverages and Alcoholic Drinks . 91 

XI. Mental State.96 

Dr. Wm. Mayo's Opinion .... 101 

XII. Sleep.105 

XIII. The Human Heart and Stomach . Ill 

XIV. Laxatives.120 

XV. Narcotics.126 

XVI. Exercise.133 

XVII. Common Diseases—Flu, Typhoid 

Fever, Tuberculosis, Pneumonia . 139 
XVIII. The Skin, Kidneys and Liver . . . 162 

XIX. The Pancreas and Insulin, the New 

Treatment for Diabetes .... 170 

XX. The Automobile.177 

XXI. Mouth Hygiene.185 

XXII. Closing Survey.198 


















HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


CHAPTER I. 

REMARKABLE EXAMPLES 

J N the first place it is possible to live a hundred years 
if we start right and bring up our children prop¬ 
erly. Centenarians would then be the rule, not the ex¬ 
ception as we now see it, caused by our habits of 
wrong living. 

My father lived to be eighty-four and one half 
years of age, and my mother was past ninety-one 
when she died. I think it quite likely if my parents 
could have started with the knowledge of "right 
living” which we now have that they could have lived a 
hundred years. 

In my home city of Joliet, Illinois, a man died 
last winter who was one hundred and three years old. 
At Dwight, Illinois, forty miles from Joliet a woman 
recently died after having celebrated her one hundred 
and tenth birthday. The pathetic thing about her life 
was that she had raised a family of three or four 
children, who grew up and died of old age at seventy 
or eighty years, before she passed away. 



12 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


Rev. Seth Reed of Flint, Michigan, sometimes 
spoken of as Bay View’s “Grand Old Man,” reach¬ 
ed the century mark this year, 1923. The rever¬ 
end gentleman is a retired Methodist Minister who has 
been preaching for over 70 years. He is a wonderful 
example of what right living and a deep religious 
faith will do to prolong life. I often think of the 
good this man has accomplished in his long useful re¬ 
ligious life. In June, 1923, at the age of one hundred 
years, Rev. Reed assisted in the Ypsilanti, Mich, cen¬ 
tennial celebration. He was born the year the city 
was founded. His picture follows. Among other re¬ 
markable examples of longevity is that of Gurgen 
Douglas, born in Marstrand, Sweden, and who reach¬ 
ed the age of 120 years and 7 months. He was mar¬ 
ried in his 85th year and had eight children, one of 
whom was born when he was 103 years old. 

Luigi Cornaro, often styled “The Venetian Cen¬ 
tenarian,” the aged author of the famous treatise, 
“La Vita Sobria” (literal translation, “The Temper¬ 
ate Life,” but better known as “The Art of Living 
Long,”) was born in the City of Venice in the year 
1464, and died in Padua in 1566, at the age of 102 
years. He was of noble birth, a man of great per¬ 
sonal and family pride. He was born with a delicate 
constitution, and unfortunately, an irritable disposi¬ 
tion, and early in life he gave evidence of careless 


V 



REV. SETH REED 





























































- 























• , 






















1 . i 9 «; i* 




















































REMARKABLE EXAMPLES 


13 


habits, which later developed into those of intemper¬ 
ance. Until he was 40 years of age he indulged in 
every kind of dissipation, and at that time he was al¬ 
most a wreck. When he realized his condition he 
faced about, and by right living regained perfect 
health. To the end of his wonderful life he retained 
his health and vigor, and all of his faculties. At the 
age of 83 he wrote the first of the four discourses 
which constitute, “La Vita Sobria. ,, This was fol¬ 
lowed by three others, one written at the age of 86, 
one at 91, and the last at 95. 

That this world would be a most delightful place, 
if people would but live temperately, is the burden of 
his message to mankind. A simple diet was almost 
exclusively the nourishment of the oldest peoples of 
Egypt, Syria, and Greece in their most glorious days, 
that of the Romans. 

When man shall once more take to heart this les¬ 
son of the means of enjoying uninterrupted health, 
and full length of days, the world will everywhere be 
blessed with the presence of those who will be con¬ 
sidered in their prime at an age now scarcely believed 
attainable, and there will be no doubt that life is 
worth living. 

Cornaro states in his book that he never realized 
what a beautiful world this is to live in until he had 
completely regained his health and at an advanced 


14 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

age when most people would be sick and harassed 
with pain and all kinds of bodily ills and anxiously 
looking for death to end their earthly troubles. 

This remarkable case of Cornaro but proves 
what wonderful results in the way of regaining health 
can be accomplished. Cornaro through dissipation 
was almost a physical wreck at forty years of age, but 
by proper diet, exercise, and mental conditions he com¬ 
pletely regained his health with scarcely any medi¬ 
cine, and he lived for sixty-two years longer, making 
him one hundred and two years old. I refer to this 
remarkable case because it is very noted all over the 
world, to prove that people may live to be 100 years. 
If this result can be obtained with a man of Cornaro s 
age when almost a physical wreck, what wonderful 
results can we not expect if we start with a boy or 
girl and have them follow these great scientific meth¬ 
ods of long living and usefulness. 

Thomas Parr, an Englishman, was married for 
the third time when he was 120 years old and he died 
in his 153 rd year. When he was 152 years old, the 
King of England invited him to come to London so 
that he might know this most interesting of his sub¬ 
jects—but Parr lived only 9 months at the Royal Pal¬ 
ace. An autopsy was held by the celebrated Dr. Har¬ 
vey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood. 
Harvey found every organ in this wonderful old 


REMARKABLE EXAMPLES 


15 


man’s body in perfect condition. His death was at¬ 
tributed to over-eating, as Parr had always lived a 
frugal life, milk forming quite a large part of his 
diet. The rich food he received at the Royal Palace 
did not prove beneficial to him, and altho 152 years of 
frugal life were unable to kill him, nine months of 
rich food succeeded in doing so. 

Henry Jenkins, also an Englishman, lived to the 
age of 169 years. He lived very frugally and was 
always on friendly terms with nature. He was 
moderate in all things, his favorite drink was water, 
and it is said that he was never really ill until near 
the end of his life. He was not shriveled and shrunk¬ 
en, but a wholesome looking man. King Charles II. 
sent a carriage to bring Mr. Jenkins to London when 
he was one hundred and sixty-one years old. The 
old gentlemen declined to ride and walked the two 
hundred miles to the metropolis. The king question¬ 
ed him regarding his life and desired to know the 
reason for his longevity. Jenkins replied that he had 
always been sober and temperate and that this was the 
reason for his many years. The Merry Monarch was 
neither sober nor temperate, and you may be sure that 
this reply did not please him. Mr.Jenkins was wiser 
than Mr. Parr had been, refusing to dissipate, even 
though he was old. Consequently he returned to his 


16 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

home to enjoy life for nine years longer. These 
cases are authentic. 

In all of the cases I have cited, these people have 
lived on good, wholesome food, and their habits of 
life have been plain and simple. 

While the subject of this book is, “How to Live 
a Hundred Years,” my message to you has a far 
deeper and more important object than simply to 
lengthen life, because lengthening life necessitates 
more care in diet and exercise and general observance 
of laws of health, and this means good vigorous 
health, so that we can do better work, and be of more 
service in the community in which we live. We can 
get so much more out of life if we are perfectly well; 
it is our own fault if we are not well, and if you will 
follow my suggestions carefully you can enjoy good 
health. 

Did you ever stop to consider how few people 
are perfectly well? Perhaps not 1 in 20. There may 
not be so many hopelessly sick past recovery, but what 
a vast number are weak, sickly, nervous and run¬ 
down; people who are always ailing, complaining and 
doctoring without ever seeming to get any better. 
This vast population is below par, struggling to keep 
going, ever open to the attacks of all disease germs. 
They should change their habits of diet and exercise 
so that they can store up some surplus energy, and the 


REMARKABLE EXAMPLES 


17 


only way to do this is to avoid unhealthy, rich foods 
and eat good nourishing diet with proper exercise and 
observance of the Laws of Health and build up a 
good rich blood supply, one of the most precious 
things we ever have on earth. 

I feel confident that the greater portion of this 
vast complaining population could regain perfect 
health if they would but faithfully follow the sugges¬ 
tions, rules and observance of the Laws of Health that 
can be found in this book. I have regained perfect 
health, in fact, I have never felt better in my life. I 
enjoy my food, I enjoy my work and I feel a zest and 
pleasure in living that has come to me through re¬ 
search and practicing the rules and regulations of life, 
which I feel it my duty to give to others. I have had 
the satifaction of seeing many of my friends and 
acquaintances likewise restored to perfect health the 
same as I myself experience. 

I am giving the main outlines and rules which 
each must work out for his own salvation, selecting 
the kind and amount of food and the amount of ex¬ 
ercise that each individual system requires. Everyone 
can easily learn and follow up these different methods 
from which they derive the most benefit. This can be 
easily recognized by the increased strength, vigor and 
endurance, and splendid health which one can feel 
when following out the course that his special case 


18 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

may require. So many physical disorders arise from 
incorrect habits of eating, that diet is a most import¬ 
ant factor from the curative standpoint. 

Aside from helping this vast number of people 
to get out of the mire of disease and to get back on 
the great paved highway of health, one great object 
that impels and spurs me on to write this book is to 
reach the parents and to prove to them, and teach 
them, the advantage and the necessity of right living, 
so that they can bring up their boys and girls to en¬ 
joy perfect health. Here is where the greatest good 
can be done. 

I am firmly convinced that over one-half of the 
sickness in the world can be eliminated if we would 
but live right; and the best place to start is with our 
young people before any of their vital organs are in¬ 
jured or partially worn out and thus avoid pre-mature 
old age. If we start right and bring our children up 
properly there need scarcely be any sickness, with the 
possible exception of contagious diseases and acciden¬ 
tal injuries. 

I have had a wonderful opportunity to travel and 
study and to meet a great many people from whom I 
have gained many valuable experiences, and especially 
in talking with physicians who have had a wide and 
varied experience in fighting disease and death. I 
have learned many valuable facts, and I feel it my 


REMARKABLE EXAMPLES 19 

duty to give these facts to the world and my efforts 
are to make this book the crowning event of my life. 

If you will pardon the personal pronoun and 
citation of my experiences, I wish to say that I am a 
graduate of a literary, medical, and a dental school. 
I worked hard in college, and had a fairly good idea 
of how to live; proper food and exercise and general 
observance of the laws of health. In fact we might 
say that there is little hope of a man ever knowing 
anything, if he has not acquired some knowledge after 
this training. 

However, I was not as strong as I should have 
been. I took more or less medicine all the time, but 
I grew worse, and a general break-down stared me in 
the face. I then thought that the trouble was in my 
lack of skill in diagnosing and treating my condition. 
I consulted some very noted and skilled physicians. 
Kach of them was sure that he could cure me—diag¬ 
nosing my weakness as due to various causes. In 
some cases there was a slight temporary improvement, 
but the ultimate result was that I was growing weak¬ 
er. 

I then began to read and study and investigate 
for myself. I soon discovered that I was on the 
right track. I took up the study from different an¬ 
gles. The government’s great food expert, Dr. Wiley, 
had lectured in our town a number of years before. 


20 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


It was a fine lecture, but I did not fully realize its im¬ 
portance until afterwards, but I did remember one 
thing that he had said about children. “Don’t give 
your children candy, but give them Nature’s sweets, 
prunes, dates, figs, raisins, grapes, and all kinds of 
fruit instead. Give your children proper food, 
a baked potato, whole wheat bread with butter 
and a glass of milk, and a diet along these lines, if 
you hope to bring up strong, healthy children.” So 
I sent for Government bulletins. I did not wish to 
get a one-sided view of the thing, so I studied differ¬ 
ent authorities and compared them. 

I began to incorporate these teachings in my own 
life and found they could stand the acid test of ex¬ 
perience. I began to spread the gospel of good health 
and found it was a success with my friends and ac¬ 
quaintances, and it grew larger and I lectured more 
or less publicly to clubs, societies and on the Chautau¬ 
qua course and so many were continually asking 
me if I had any literature on this subject that I was 
led to write this book, and in so doing more efficiently 
spread the gospel of good health. 

I have had an unusual opportunity to study this 
subject. My wife’s health was such that we have 
spent twelve winters in warm climates; four in Cali¬ 
fornia, five in Florida, two in Arizona and one in San 
Antonio, Texas. I have traveled more than twice 


REMARKABLE EXAMPLES 21 

around the world, which has given me an excellent 
chance to study this subject. For over thirty years 
I have conducted a large dental practice, with two 
assistants, so that business does not stop when I am 
away. Then I have always had an inquiring mind— 
my wife tells me I ask too many questions, and I 
guess she is right, she generally is. 

I have adopted the divine injunction, “Seek and 
ye shall find, ask and ye shall receive, knock and it 
shall be opened unto you/’ This knowledge which I 
have obtained first hand from so many people I con¬ 
sider almost as valuable as the scientific knowledge I 
have gained from the great investigators, for it simply 
confirms their teachings. Over half the sickness of 
all the world can be eliminated, if we would only live 
right. 


CHAPTER II. 

FOODS AND A BALANCED RATION 

r J n HE most important message I bring you is the 

kinds of food to eat and the kinds to avoid. A 
good, rich blood current is the most valuable thing we 
can possess, and when we have this, together with a 

healthy body, we need have no fear of disease and 
sickness. 

In order to maintain a high state of efficiency, and 
to enjoy perfect health and live to a ripe old age, I 
am going to place under five principal headings the 
things that are necessary to ipaintain this splendid 
physical condition. 

1. FOODS 

2. BEVERAGES 

3. EXERCISE 

4. MENTAL CONDITION 

5. ELIMINATION 

I consider food as by far the most important of 
these five great necessities. I can not place too great 
emphasis on the eating of proper foods, at the proper 
time, and in their proper amounts, and let me say 
right here that we must not eat too many kinds of 


FOODS AND BALANCED RATION 


23 


food at one meal. Often a well balanced meal that is 
desirable in every way, is ruined and made indigest¬ 
ible by the addition of a certain kind of food that 
should not be eaten at this particular meal. This is 
a great field that everyone must work out for him¬ 
self. We get our varieties of food, and we must have 
a variety in order to get a well balance ration, but we 
should have different kinds and different classes of 
food at different meals. Great care should be taken 
in arranging for a meal to select those' that are some¬ 
what similar in their digestibility, or in other words,, 
that require something near the same time for diges¬ 
tion. As an example it would be a very poor plan to 
eat boiled cabbage which requires about five hours for 
digestion, and at the same meal eat a baked apple 
which required only a little over an hour to be digest¬ 
ed. The apple is very easily digested, but it is diffi¬ 
cult for the stomach to rid itself of this until the other 
things which are eaten at the same time are digested. 
In the case of cabbage it would probably take five 
hours for the stomach to digest the cabbage and the 
apple which would still be retained in the stomach 
would be likely to ferment, causing serious digestive 
disturbances. 

There is on old and very true saying that many 
people dig their graves with their teeth. I wish to 
state again the great importance of proper eating, 


24 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

and these four rules which I quote from “Main¬ 
taining Health” by Dr. Alsaker, who so forcibly 
expresses them, should form a part of our vital 
knowledge. If you forget everything else in this 
book please remember them, and try to put them 
into practice. 

1. EAT ONLY WHEN HUNGRY 

2. DURING ACUTE ILLNESS, FAST 

3. BE MODERATE IN YOUR EAT¬ 

ING 

4. THOROUGHLY MASTICATE ALL 

FOOD 

Frequently throughout this book I will use the 
term, “a well balanced ration,” and I will explain just 
what this means. Briefly, it is a scientific selection of 
the foods which we should eat, and which contain the 
three principal elements of food, protein, fats, and 
carbohydrates and which also supply the valuable 
mineral salts and vitamines which are so necessary to 
the human system. Leading food authorities, with 
few exceptions, are agreed that the balanced ration 
should consist of l-10th protein, 3-10ths fat, and 
6-10ths carbohydrates. 


CHAPTER III. 

PROTEIN 

W E -? first discuss the proteins, which although 
only 1-10 of the balanced ration, perform a 
very important part in sustaining life and keeping our 
health up to a high standard. These foods are called 
the building up foods, or the tissue builders, and are 
absolutely necessary for nutrition. While they are ab¬ 
solutely necessary for our very life and existence, 
great care should be observed in not eating too freely 
or the protein foods, for the reason that the protein 
in these foods cannot be stored up in the body, and 
whatever protein is not needed for immediate use in 
the human system must be immediately eliminated, 
and thereby an over burden of work is thrown on the 
excretory organs. Protein foods are obtained from 
two general sources, animal and vegetable. After we 
take up these proteiri foods separately, we will discuss 
a reasonable way in which to determine the correct 
amount to be eaten. We need more of this class of 
foods in the winter, than we do in the summer, to 
furnish the fuel to keep the body heat. Meats are 


26 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

considered the leading protein food as usually con¬ 
sumed by the American people. 

There is considerable diversity of opinion among 
food authorities upon the eating of meat. One school 
claims that no meat should be eaten at all. Another 
school claims that it should be the principal part of 
a diet. Between these two extremes, my opinion is, 
that with those with whom meat agrees, it should be 
used once a day, very sparingly. Some very noted 
authorities declarfe that we should eat no meat but 
that we should substitute nuts and other protein foods. 
This is not practicable at present for the simple reason 
that there are not enough nuts in the United States to 
last one day if everybody depended upon nuts for 
their supply of protein, and until we can have some 
suitable substitute for the protein contained in meat 
it would not be wise to stop its use at once, but I can 
not condemn ini too strong language the excessive use 
of meats. 

Its use is causing a tremendous amount of sick¬ 
ness, disease, and premature old age. It is one of 
the greatest factors in bringing on rheumatism, 
Bright’s Disease, high blood pressure, and Artereo 
Schlerosis, or hardening of the arteries. A very im¬ 
portant thing about eating meat is this, good fresh 
meat properly cooked is quite easily digested by a 
healthy person, and furnishes excellent protein in the 


PROTEIN 


27 


form of nutrition or tissue builder, but the great 
danger lies in the immediate elimination of this meat. 
If a person is troubled with constipation there is a 
great source of danger and a breeding field in the 
colon for the development of the most malignant bac¬ 
teria that increase by the million in an incredibly 
short time. These bacteria are soon absorbed in the 
blood stream and pass to all parts of the body, caus¬ 
ing auto intoxication, and seriously interferring with 
the harmonious functioning of all vital organs of the 
body. 

Meats should be strictly fresh when used. After 
meat is slightly tainted and decomposition has actually 
started it is absolutely unfit to be taken into the human 
system. Fresh meats have a much sweeter taste 
which gradually disappears in two or three weeks 
after being slaughtered 

In my work and study along these lines I have 
become very much opposed to the use of cold stor¬ 
age meats or as some writers put it ‘embalmed 
meats. Expert scientists have discovered that sam¬ 
ples of meat taken from cold storage where they have 
been kept for months or years, contain a much higher 
bacterial count than can be found in fresh slaughtered 
meat. Still more dangerous than this is the condi¬ 
tion which this meat has reached, so that when it is 
taken from cold storage by the retailer, and served to 


28 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


the consumer, a much more rapid deterioration takes 
place than in fresh meats. I am satisfied that in these 
facts can be found a quite important reason for the 
harm that meats are doing to the American people. 
Fresh killed meats are much sweeter than cold stor¬ 
age meats, and the longer they stay in cold storage, 
the more tasteless and dangerous they become. Not 
only will the above objections hold for cold storage 
meats, but even more dangerous are the practices 
which are resorted to preserve meats. Many harmful 
chemicals are used to keep the meats from spoiling, 
and these are a serious injury to the people who con¬ 
sume them. Formaldehyde and benzote of soda are 
among the most commonly used preservatives. The 
meat industry is one of the largest in the United 
States and its products are a principal part of our diet, 
and it is for this reason that I have given so much 
space to the discussion of meats. It should be dis¬ 
tinctly understood, however, that we can reach ripe 
healthy old age without using meat at all. 

In eliminating the waste from the meat we eat, 
we must also eliminate the waste matter that was in 
the animal’s system when slaughtered, and this creates 
extra work for the excretory organs, especially the 
kidneys. 

There is a great diversity of opinion in regard to 
what are the best kinds of meats. I consider lamb and 


PROTEIN 


29 


beef among the best meats. Pork is not considered 
as healthful as either of the above and yet I consider 
it not altogether dangerous to eat fresh killed pork oc¬ 
casionally. Veal and pork are considered harder to 
digest than beef and lamb, taking about five hours to 
digest. 

All meats should be thoroughly cooked so that 
they are very tender and more easily masticated and 
digested perfectly. Meat in a pot roast or baked is 
healthier to eat than when fried. Although, if fried 
carefully and scientifically in a very hot spider or 
griddle, so that the surface of the meat is seered to re¬ 
tain the juices, and then cooked more slowly until thor¬ 
oughly done, it is much better than when fried in 
grease. The fireless cooker is also an excellent way in 
which to cook meat. Frequently the cheaper cuts of 
meat are fully as nutritious when prepared in this man¬ 
ner as the higher priced meats. All the natural juices 
are retained, and it is much more tender and better fla¬ 
vored. Some of our latest improved gas ranges now 
have a hood that is placed over the kettle in which 
meat is being roasted. After the meat has stood over 
the fire for ten or fifteen minutes the gas is turned 
out, and this hood retains the heat for hours after¬ 
wards, much on the same principle as the fireless 
cooker. The National Pressure cooker in which 
quite a high temperature, about 300° Fahrenheit, is at- 


30 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


tained by a steam tight cover, is another excellent 
manner in which to cook meat and vegetables. It is 
this principle of cooking at high temperatures, 300° 
or more, that salmon and other forms of fish are 
thoroughly cooked so that we can eat the bones the 
same as flesh. 

Hence my caution is that meats should be eaten 
very sparingly, not more than once a day, and with 
the other proper foods to be taken with them, so that 
there is prompt elimination of the waste and ashes, at 
least twice a day to prevent the meat from remaining 
in the colon as a breeding place for over twelve hours 
at a time. This is not only a very important point in 
regard to eating meat, but it is a great universal law 
that applies more or less forcibly to all kinds of food. 
As we get older we should eat less and less meat. 
Some authorities claim that very little meat should be 
eaten by a person over fifty years of age. After this 
age I think that meat eaten every other day, or two 
or three times a week, is ample and some people are 
much better off if they do not eat meat at all after 
they are fifty or sixty years old. 

Strictly fresh fish supplies protein in a very good 
form, and when properly prepared, and eaten in 
moderate qualities, forms a very nourishing food. 

Egg should form an important part of our diet, 
as they are nourishing, easily digested, and contain 


PROTEIN 


31 


many important food elements. The white is com¬ 
posed largely of albumen. The yolk, however, con¬ 
tains the vital elements, the vitamines and mineral 
salts, especially iron. Beaten up raw, soft boiled, or 
poached they are the easiest digested. As ordinarily 
fried, eggs are most difficult of digestion, part of their 
nutrition being lost in frying. 

In milk we find a large amount of protein, and in 
a very digestible form. Milk is almost indispensiblc, 
especially for the young. It is a perfect food. But¬ 
ter and cream are the best forms in which to obtain 
the ounce and a half of fat which the human system 
requires daily. In addition to its internal secretions, 
valuable ferments and mineral matters, milk is an 
ideal form of nourishment, owing to the fact that it 
contains all of the necessary elements of human food. 

It is the most nourishing of food. Good cows 
milk contains 35 grams of albumen, 40 grams of 
milk-sugar and 35 to 40 grams of fat to the liter. 
McCollum advises each person to take a quart of milk 
a day, combining that taken raw and in cooking. Ac¬ 
cording to our present habits, the consumption is only 
one-half pint daily—one-fourth the amount that 
should be used by the people of this country. An ex¬ 
cellent plan is to use a little cream on your breakfast 
food instead of sugar. There is health and long life 
in the use of milk and cream. Use them freely. 


32 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


Butter-milk is considered very healthful if it can 
be obtained while fresh, soon after the butter has 
been churned. It can be made at home from fresh 
milk by adding commercial tablets prepared by the 
leading pharmaceutical manufacturers. These tab¬ 
lets contain the “Bacillus Bulgaris,” a friendly germ, 
which causes the milk to turn to butter-milk. These 
bacilli are the most valuable part of butter-milk as 
they manufacture lactic acid in the human intestinal 
tract, especially in the colon, and make a medium in 
which it is very difficult for the dangerous forms of 
bacteria from meats and other protein foods to exist. 

There is a great variety of opinion among food 
experts in regard to cheese as a food. The majority 
claim that a good fresh cream cheese is a healthful 
food, while others claim that it should not be used as 
a food, that it is decomposed milk. The majority of 
them are agreed, however, that if cheese has aged so 
that it is sometimes spoken of as being “ripe” and in 
advanced bacterial fermentation, it is not in this stage 
of decomposition a very healthful food. Some auth¬ 
orities claim that good cheese in very small quantities 
is an aid to digestion. Cottage cheese is an excellent 
food, easily digested and is generally made from sour 
skimmed milk. Some fats can or should be added, 
in the form of butter or cream, to make it more palat¬ 
able and nourishing. 


PROTEIN 


33 


Among the vegetables which furnish a consider¬ 
able portion of protein, I would give an important 
place to beans, which are next in value to meat and 
which are a most useful part of a healthful diet. We 
also find protein in corn, peas, lentels, and other 
legumes, such as peanuts. Carrots are rich in the 
salts of iron, and spinach, which has a high percent¬ 
age of iron, is sometimes called the “human broom,” 
sweeping the waste from the system. Nearly all 
vegetables in their season are valuable foods. Onions, 
boiled, should be eaten once or twice a week. 

Nuts are very rich in protein, and also an excel¬ 
lent substitute for meat. If thoroughly masticated 
nuts are quite as digestible as meat. They also sup¬ 
ply fat and other essential elements. I consider Eng¬ 
lish walnuts, almonds and pecans among the most 
easily digested and nourishing foods. When eaten 
with seedless raisins, which give a delightful flavor, 
they make an excellent desert instead of pie or rich 
pasteries. 

Wheat, when properly milled, is a great source 
of protein. Our present system of milling is faulty 
and this subject will be taken up more thoroughly 
under the chapter on “Carbohydrates.” 

Most authorities recommend about 1-10 of our 
menus should be protein. But at least one half of 
this protein should come from the vegetable kingdom. 


34 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


Therefore, we must remember not over 1-20 of our 
calories of protein should come from the animal king¬ 
dom, and that we can live long, healthy, active lives, 
and perform heavy, manual labor without meat, if we 
would but learn to use vegetables, cereals and nuts, rich 
in protein, so as to maintain a balanced ration. 


CHAPTER IV. 

FATS 


pATS should form about 3-10 of a balanced ration. 

These foods form a very important part of our 
diet. In proportion to their weight the fats produce 
far more heat than do carbohydrates. Therefore, this 
class of food should be used far more freely in winter 
than in summer. We see why in the frigid Arctic re¬ 
gions the Eskimos and natives exist almost entirely up¬ 
on fat during the winter, but if we examine the foods 
in the tropics, we find an entirely different condition. 
There Nature provides scarcely any fats, but instead 
the normal diet consists of large quantities and great 
varieties of fruits and vegetables. 

The maintaining of the bodily heat and energy 
is one of the most important functions of food, but 
great care should be exercised that we select those 
foods that are best suited to our needs, and the ashes 
and waste of which, after they are used, can be easily 
eliminated from the human body without special 
effort or energy. 

By far the most healthful and easily digested fats 
% are obtained from butter, milk, cream, cheese and nuts. 


36 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

Fats are also found to a considerable extent in some 
fruits and vegetables. Some maintain that oleomar¬ 
garine is more healthful than butter, but personally 
I prefer the butter. Among vegetable fats and oils 
are many different kinds such as olive oil, cocoanut 
oil, peanut oil, maize oil and many others. We have 
spoken before of the value of nuts under proteins as 
they also furnish a splendid form of protein. 

Many people contend that nuts are indigestible. 
This may be true when they are eaten at the close of 
a very hearty meal which comprises too great a quan¬ 
tity of protein, but if they are eaten with the right 
kinds of foods which have been used sparingly, people 
will find very little difficulty in digesting them. 


CHAPTER V. 

CARBOHYDRATES 

^ ARBOHYDRATES should furnish 6-10 of the 
well balanced ration. Over half of our foods 
will come under this heading. The main functions of 
these foods is to furnish the body with heat and energy, 
and the different elements of nutrition that the body re¬ 
quires. Great care should be exercised in selecting our 
diet from these two great sources of food. The main 
thought should be to select those articles of food 
which can be digested and assimilated with the least 
effort of the body, and the waste eliminated without in¬ 
jury to any of the vital organs. We should also be 
guided in choice of these foods to select those foods 
which do not cause fermentation. 

Carbohydrates is a general term that includes the 
starches, sugars, and celluloses, and these will be tak¬ 
en up in their order. 

Grain stands at the head of all foods to give us 
a long and healthy life without injury to our digestive 
system, and wheat leads them all. We should do 
away with baker's white bread in our dietary, and 


38 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


substitute whole wheat, graham, and rye bread in¬ 
stead. 

“Give us this day our daily bread,” is the only 
material thing we are taught to ask for in the Lord’s 
Prayer; but this was a real bread referred to in bibli¬ 
cal times, and not the poor substitute of the modern 
baker’s bread which the people are now using. 

In this kernel of wheat the Lord gave us a per¬ 
fect food—first the thin outer shell of bran, the best 
laxative known. Then comes the gluten, vitamines, 
and precious mineral salts, all these precious things 
so necessary to life. The best and most nutritious 
parts of the grain are bolted out, and given to the 
cattle and hogs in the form of bran, shorts, and , mid¬ 
dlings, and we have only the starch left, ground to 
powder, zvhich causes constipation with all its attend¬ 
ant evils of disease and broken down health. 

For some time we bought whole-wheat and gra¬ 
ham flour, and used it with ordinary commercial flour 
in making bread. This was a great improvement over 
using the white flour alone, but I knew some of the 
best part of the grain had been removed in the pro¬ 
cess of milling, so I decided to buy a family grist mill 
and do my own grinding. After looking over the 
various kinds, I bought a mill made in my home city, 
Joliet, Illinois, by Humphrey & Sons. I have been 
using this mill for almost five years now, and it has 


CARBOHYDRATES 


39 


been very satisfactory. One mill would do for the 
use of two, three, or half a dozen families. The price 
of the mill is eight dollars, or nine dollars if it is sup¬ 
plied with an additional balance wheel so that it can 
be belted to an electric or gasoline engine. This mill 
is well made and can be used to grind wheat for your 
own breakfast food, as well as for grinding chicken 
feed. I am not trying to sell this mill, however. I 
bought it because I thought it was the best I had 
seen. The large mail order houses, and other con¬ 
cerns, sell mills for this purpose, some even use a 
coffee mill, but it does the work imperfectly. 

I buy my wheat at threshing time, when it is 
fresh and clean. The spring wheat should be used 
for bread, as it is richer in gluten and more healthful, 
while the winter wheat is better for pasteries. It can 
be placed on a shelf, suspended by wires from the ceil¬ 
ing of the attic, and in this way it will keep fresh for 
years, and safe from mice. Whole wheat flour will 
not keep as well in hot weather as ordinary flour, be¬ 
cause of the gluten it contains. I grind it only as I 
need it. In ten or fifteen minutes I can grind suf¬ 
ficient wheat to make a baking, when mixed with white 
flour. Three and a quarter bushels of wheat make 
a barrel of flour, at a cost of less than four dollars,— 
two cents a pound—more than a year’s supply, when 
added to the white flour. A loaf of this bread has 


40 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


more tissue building and life sustaining power than 
two loaves of baker’s bread. 

I wish someone had told me fifteen years ago what 
I am telling you now. It would have saved me so 
many discouraging years. I did not know how to 
grind the wheat; I did not know that it was practic¬ 
able. I was not sure that it was palatable and health¬ 
ful, and I thought that the milling trust had to take a 
hand in it, before it was fit for use. 

Rye flour is almost the equal of wheat and very 
similar in its constituents. Some people object to the 
sticky consistency of rye-bread, but this can be over¬ 
come by mixing with the flour an equal quantity of 
white and whole wheat flour. Corn meal is very 
healthful and should be used to give variety to our 
menu, especially in cold weather. 

Rice in its natural state is a very healthful food, 
and should be used freely in our regular diet. Its 
main food element is starch, and it is in an easily 
digested form. We find the same serious objection, 
however, in the ordinary rice on the market today, that 
we find in our commercial white flour. The rice on 
the market has been polished, and the outer brown¬ 
ish coat, which contains the mineral salts and some 
of the most vital elements of food, has been remove- 
ed in the same manner that our great milling con¬ 
cerns are robbing the American people of the vita- 


CARBOHYDRATES AND VEGETABLES 


41 


mines and mineral salts contained in the other grains. 

We should use rice in its natural brown form and 
this can be obtained from any of our large mail order 
houses and most groceries if we insist on it. This 
form of rice is usually put up in small packages, as 
it does not keep quite as well as polished rice, because 
the oily fats and mineral matters contained in the 
rice grains will not keep as well, especially in warm 
weather. For this reason our manufacturers try to 
discourage the people who wish to use the natural 
brown rice and the whole wheat flour because these 
precious foods in this form can not be kept as long, 
or in such large quantities, as the polished rice and 
the white bleached flour. 

Tapioca is another form of starch and is largely 
used in making deserts. 

VEGETABLES 

Vegetables are very healthful and should enter 
largely into our diet. The leafy vegetables have di- 
ferent food elements from the root vegetables, and 
are usually very much neglected in the diet of the 
average person, although they are very rich in vita- 
mines and mineral salts, and at least one of these 
leafy vegetables should be eaten every day. 

I would place the potato as the most valuable 
vegetable. It can be obtained throughout the entire 


42 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


year, and is best when baked and eaten with the skin 
on. If it is not convenient to bake potatoes, they should 
be boiled with the skins on, peeling them afterwards, 
so as to preserve the precious mineral salts just under 
the skin. The starch in potatoes is slightly easier to 
digest than the starch in bread, and contains other 
valuable mineral properties. 

McCollum advises eating raw cabbage three 
times a week in the form of salad or cole slaw. 
Sauerkraut, eaten without cooking, is a most health¬ 
ful form in which to eat cabbage. It contains an 
abundance of all four vitamines, it is rich in mineral 
salts, especially iron and calcium, and is very rich 
in lactic acid. Dr. Brokaw of St. Louis, Missouri, 
calls sauerkraut the “human vacuum cleaner.” Dr. 
Arnold Lorand of Carlsbad, in his book, “Health and 
Longevity Through Rational Diet,” speaks of some 
very excellent results obtained by the use of one or 
two tablespoons of sauerkraut eaten at the beginning 
of a meal. 

Tomatoes are a very important vegetable, and 
when eaten raw help to supply the needed vitamines 
and mineral salts. Tomato juice is very often given 
to babies for this reason, when orange juice is not 
available. Since tomatoes cook in their own juice 
they loose but very little of their important food ele¬ 
ments in cooking. 


VEGETABLES AND FRUIT 


43 


Among the leafy vegetables we might enumer¬ 
ate lettuce, radishes, celery, garden cress, green onions, 
(to those who can use them) and raw cabbage and 
tomatoes, which have been discussed. All of these 
should be eaten freely while in season. They give 
bulk to food in the alimentary tract, aid peristaltic 
action of the bowels, and help to prevent constipation. 

FRUIT 

Most people do not use enough fruit. It should 
form a very important part of our diet. Among the 
many kinds of fruit I would place the apple as the 
most valuable, available the year round. “An apple 
a day keeps the doctor away.” If it is possible it is 
best not to select those which are too sour, a Jonathan, 
a Wine Sap, or a Northern Spy, being preferred. A 
baked apple is one of the easiest digested foods, and can 
be taken with milk. Oranges come next. The juice 
of a ripe, sweet orange is very rich in mineral salts 
and vitamines and is very healthful. It is now given 
to babies, between feedings of milk, with great suc¬ 
cess. Grapes come next. The California white 
grape is a typical case of perfect natural sweets, and 
is taken into the system as levulose, with few changes 
and no digestive disturbances. The Concord grape is 
a life-saver, we should can more grapes and make 
more grape juice. Peaches, pears, plum, berries, and 


44 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

most of the other fruits are healthful and should be 
eaten freely when in season. 

SUGAR 

There are over two hundred different kinds of 
sugar, the most common or most important of these 
being Cane Sugar, Milk Sugar and Grape Sugar. 

If I were to prepare a list of the things which 
were not to be eaten, I would place at the head of 
this list as the most dangerous, candy and rich cake 
and pasteries—nothing will put you out of business 
and break down your health any surer than to eat 
freely of candy and rich cake and pastries. 

The human stomach can not digest candy and 
cane sugar. It is not acted upon by a digestive en¬ 
zyme until it passes through the stomach and reaches 
the small intestine. Before it reaches this stage, how¬ 
ever, it has caused lots of mischief. It has usually 
fermented and soured in the stomach, causing gas 
and distress, and seriously interfered with the diges¬ 
tion in the stomach, and the desire for nourishing 
food. 

This fermentation causes more or less sour acid 
condition of the entire alimentary tract, and when it 
is absorbed it disturbs the harmony of the whole 
system, throwing excessive work on the kidneys and 
the pancreas, in filtering out these conditions, so as 


SUGAR 


45 


to keep the blood slightly alkaline. Then extra work 
is thrown on the liver, which stores up sugar to be 
doled out to the human system as needed. The malt 
sugar, manufactured by the action of the saliva on 
starches, is the best kind and is easily handled by the 
liver. 

The people of the United States eat far too much 
sugar—ninety pounds per capita—twice the amount 
any other Nation eats—and that is one main reason 
why we are a Nation of dyspeptics. 

Even those who advocate eating candy admit it 
should be eaten only in very small quantities at the 
close of dinner, never between meals. A very noted 
physician allowed one small piece of candy to a 
patient's son at the close of dinner. 

The foregoing severe indictment is against pure 
candy and cane sugar. There is, as a matter of fact, 
very little pure candy. Glucose and other things, 
with cheap dangerous coloring matter enters largely 
into the manufacture of most candy today. 

Glucose is made by boiling sulphuric acid and 
corn together and is a powerful irritant to the kidneys 
and liver, when taken in any appreciable quantity, 
causing nephritis or inflammation of the kidneys. 
Corn at fifty cents per bushel, and sulphuric acid cheap, 
glucose can be manufactured for one-third the cost of 


46 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

sugar, and it is sweet and can not be easily detected 
when mixed with sugar and other ingredients. 

With this knowledge before us, can you wonder 
that I ask you to help me spread the gospel of good 
health, and warn parents against giving their children 
candy. If children eat freely of candy when young, 
they will never become strong men and women. If 
their digestion is so strong as not to be impaired, it 
will show later in life, in high blood pressure, 
kidney, liver and heart trouble, or in some other 
form of break-down in what should be middle life, 
bringing on pre-mature old age. It is in these rare 
cases, that do not show the bad effects of eating candy 
until later, that makes it so much more dangerous. 

Undoubtedly there is still an occasional incredul¬ 
ous reader. To all of them I will say: “Try it 
yourself.” Eat freely of candy between meals, or at 
bedtime. Notice the “Prince-Albert” taste in your 
mouth next morning, little desire to eat a normal 
meal of wholesome food, that tired languid feeling, 
and many other symtoms of headache and disturbed 
digestion. 

Watch the effect of candy on children—some¬ 
times with an exceptionally strong and healthy child 
it may take a day or two to be noticed, but usually the 
ill effects can be seen at once in lack of appetite at the 
following meal, pale, languid, tired expression, con- 


SUGAR 


47 


trary, irritable mental condition, all of which is due 
to excessive fermented poisons in the child’s system 
that could not be eliminated. 

A noted New York physician recently stated that 
after reviewing some statistics he found that the 
number of people in this country afflicted with diabe¬ 
tes had doubled in the last few years. This increase 
dates from the time prohibition went into effect, and 
he laid this to the enormous increase in the consump¬ 
tion of candy and cane sugar by the American people. 

Formerly there were about 1,000,000 people 
afflicted with diabetes, but since the Volsted Act has 
been in effect this number has increased to 2,000,000 
people. 

The more cane sugar and the more candy people 
eat the more they want to eat, causing an unnatural 
craving, very much as the alcoholic feels, for the 
more alcohol he consumes the more he wants to con¬ 
sume, creating an abnormal appetite. Because cane 
sugar is an irritant to mucous membranes; it causes 
a catarrahal condition and an abnormal appetite for 
more and more. Just as alcohol never satisfies, it 
always wants more and more. 


CHAPTER VI. 
VITAMINES AND MENUS 


£ WISH to make a short quotation from the noted 
food authority, Dr. Harvey Wiley, of Washing¬ 
ton, D. C., on the growing interest and necessity of 
vitamines in our food. The doctor puts this in a very 
forcible manner, and from a man in his high position, 
it adds weight to the report he makes: 

“An increasing interest on the subject of vi¬ 
tamines is being shown by the public, while the num¬ 
ber of chemists and physiologists engaged in research 
work, is rapidly increasing. It would be idle to 
attempt to tell the public what vitamines are, since 
this important question remains unanswered, as they 
have never been isolated. 

“The general impression is that a vitamine is 
some actual particle of matter, and therefore, a defi¬ 
nite chemical unit, which attaches itself to food, at 
least to some foods, in a perfectly natural and physi¬ 
cal manner. The absence of vitamines from food 
produces certain disturbances of biological functions, 
and in the end results in disease and death. Since it 
has been demonstrated that food products devoid of 


VITAMINES AND MENUS • 49 

vitamines are incapable of digestion and assimilation 
by the human body, the practical importance of exact 
knowledge relating to vitamines can no longer be 
denied. The lack of vitamines manifests itself in 
several ways. First, a distinct and easily recogniza¬ 
ble disease follows the use of certain vitamine-free 
foods. This disease which was first noticed in the 
Orient, was called beri beri. It is now generally des¬ 
ignated under the name of polyneuritis. It is a pro¬ 
gressive paralysis of the nervous system attended 
with various other disorders of the body, resulting in 
coma and death. An affection of the eye known as 
“dry-eye” has been noticed, as the result of the ab¬ 
sence of certain vitamines in the food.” Scurvy is 
another result, and some investigators have also found 
rickets associated with a deficiency of vitamines. 
Vitamines are divided into three classes, A, B and C. 
The A vitamine is said to be soluble in fat, while the 
B and C vitamines are said to be soluble in water. 
These are not really accurate descriptive terms. The 
B vitamine is also soluble in fat and the A vitamine 
exists particularly in those parts of the plants where 
there is the least fat—in the leaves of the vegetables 
and plants, particularly of alfalfa, clover, lettuce, 
cabbage and etc.” 

The following table shows the distribution of 
the vitamines, A, B, and C, in the more commonly 


50 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


used foods. It is taken from data compiled by Pro¬ 
fessor Eddy of Teacher’s College, Columbia Univer¬ 
sity and published in his book the “Vitamines Man¬ 
ual,” in which the British and American data have 
been combined giving us the highest authorities on 
this subject to date. A few additions have been made, 
xxxx is very plentiful; xxx abundant; xx relatively 
large; x present in small quantities; 0 absent. 


Spinach. 

Cabbage (raw) . 

Carrots . 

Cauliflower. 

Lettuce . 

Onions. 

Parsnips. 

Peas (fresh) . 

Potatoes . 

Sweet Potatoes. 

Cereals. 

Bread (white flour) 

Bread (whole wheat) .. 

Rice (polished) . 

Rice (unpolished) . 

Butter. 

Cod liver oil. 


A 

B 

C 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxx 

xxxx 

xxx 

xxx 

XX 

XX 

xxx 

XX 

XX 

XX 

xxxx 

0 

xxx 

xxx 

XX 

xxx 

0 

X 

XX 

xxx 

0 

xxx 

XX 

xxx 

XX 

0 

x 

xxx 

0 

0 

Trace 

0 

X 

xxx 

Trace 

0 

0 

0 

X 

xxx 

0 

xxxx 

0 

0 

xxxx 

0 

0 





















VITAMINES AND MENUS 


51 


A B 


Egg Yolk Fat. 

Milk. 

xxxx 

0 

XXX 

XXX 

Cheese . 

XX 

X 

Condensed Milk. 

XX 

X 

Cream. 

XXX 

X 

Brewer’s Yeast . 

0 

xxxx 

Yeast Cakes . 

0 

XX 

Yeast Extract. 

0 

xxxx 

Brains. 

XX 

XXX 

Herring and Salmon. 

XX 

XX 

Lean Meat. 

X 

X 

Liver. 

X 

X 

Canned Meats. 

? 

0 

Oats. 

X 

XXX 

Rye . 

X 

XXX 

Beans (kidney) . 


XXX 

Beans (navy) . 


XXX 

Flaxseed. 

XX 

XXX 

Apples . 

V 

, y * 

XX 

Bananas. 

? 

X 

Grapefruit. 


XXX 

Lemons. 

0 

XXX 

Limes . 


XX 

Oranges. 


XXX 

Tomatoes . 

Tomatoes (canned) .... 

XX 

XXX 


0 

xx 

0 

0 

Trace 

0 

0 

0 

x? 

p 

X 

? 

0 

0 

0 


XX 

XX 

XXX 

xxxx 

XX 

xxxx 

xxxx 

XXX 




































52 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


ABC 


Almonds . 

X 

XXX 

Brazil nuts. 


xxxx 

Chestnuts . 


XXX 

Cocoanuts . 

XX 

xxx 

English Walnuts . 


XXX 

Eggs . 

xxxx 

XX 

Honey. 


XX 


A Vitamine is a catalyzer. It makes other 
things go on, or makes other things* work, such as 
iron turns plants green. Vitamines are closely as¬ 
sociated with mineral salts. There are mineral salts 
in all nourishing foods. If we eat foods rich in 
vitamines, we may rest assured that they are ac¬ 
companied by plenty of the precious mineral salts 
which are absolutely essential to digestion and good 
health. 

EXPLANATION OF THE ABOVE TABLE 

“It is impossible to give the exact percentage of 
vitamines in different foods, but the above table should 
serve as a very valuable aid to us in selecting the foods 
which are most abundantly supplied with vitamines. 
As a matter of convenience I would divide the fore¬ 
going table into five classes. 

1. Foods which produce disease by their lack 
of vitamines and which should be taken very spar¬ 
ingly. We will designate these by “0” 













VITAMINES AND MENUS 


53 


2. In the second class I would include foods 
which if eaten for any length of time cause disease 
by reason of an insufficiency of vitamines. These are 
marked “x” 

3. In the third class I would place foods which 
are healthful and which do not induce disease. If 
one is suffering from a lack of vitamines, foods in 
this class would help to restore him to a healthy con¬ 
dition and I would designate this class of food by 

xx . This class of food might be said to be health¬ 
ful food. 

4. In my fourth class I would place all foods 
which produce a prompt removal of established vita- 
mine deficiency diseases and I would designate them as 
“xxx.” 

5. In my fifth class, which are marked “xxxx” 
are those foods which exert a most powerful influ¬ 
ence in restoring the body to a healthful condition 
when suffering from vitamine deficiency due to im¬ 
proper diet.” 

I cannot emphasize too strongly the vital impor¬ 
tance of the foregoing table of foods. We should 
study this table repeatedly so that we become really 
familiar with the foods which contain two, three, or 
four plusses and try to make them the principal part 
of our diet if we want to build up strong, robust con¬ 
stitutions, free from pain, disease, and premature old 


54 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED l"EARS 

age. These vitamines are closely associated with the 
precious salts which are absolutely essential to the 
proper digestion and assimilation of food. 

To explain more fully to my readers what the 
foregoing table means, I would add that “A” vitamine 
is said to be soluble in fat and is absolutely essential 
to children as it contains the growth factor and helps 
the child to mature properly. The “B” vitamine is 
soluble in water and protects us against beri-beri, and 
poly-neuritis, which as the name implies, starts with 
an imflammation of the nerves and if wrong diet is 
continued it eventually leads to complete paralysis 
and death. I might add that “C” vitamine is also 
soluble in water and protects us against scurvy. It 
is now generally recognized that there is a fourth 
vitamine “D”, which is soluble in fat, and which is a 
great aid in preventing rickets or in curing them if al¬ 
ready acquired. Cod liver oil is very rich in this 
vitamine “D”, and it also contains vitamine “A” in 
large quantities. In some localities in crowded parts 
of large cities it has been found that rickets among 
children have developed very rapidly. It is said that 
this is often due to the food insufficiency or lack of 
food containing “D” vitamine and other vitamines. 
It has been found that babies artificially fed, especial¬ 
ly those fed upon condensed milk, are very liable to 
develop this disease, unless food rich in vitamines. 


VITAMINES AND MENUS 


55 


such as orange juice or tomato juice, is supplied them. 
It is now claimed by some writers that a fifth vita- 
mine, “E”, has been discovered, but this fact is not 
fully acknowledged by the leading authorities as it 
has not been fully established. 

In studying the above chart I would call your 
attention to spinach, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, and 
lettuce which are abundantly supplied with all three 
of the vitamines. If possible one or more of these 
vegetables should be included in every daily menu. 

All forms of yeast are rich in vitamines. I 
know many people who have greatly improved their 
health by taking a yeast cake or part of a yeast cake 
after each meal. • Sometimes one yeast cake after sup¬ 
per or at bed time is sufficient to furnish the vitamine 
content and at the same time acts as a laxative as¬ 
sisting the elimination of the waste in the bowels. 
The amount and time of taking can be best deter¬ 
mined by each individual need. 

I would also call your attention to white bread 
which is absolutely devoid of vitamines and which 
shows and proves why we should substitute the whole 
wheat bread for the white bread, because it is rich in 
vitamines. We should also discard polished rice which 
contains no trace of vitamines or mineral salt and 
we should substitute the unpolished rice which is 
quite rich in vitamines. These few important foods 


56 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


are of the very greatest importance to our life and 
health. Potatoes, both Irish and the sweet variety, 
are rich in vitamines. Then look at canned meats, 
also devoid of vitamines. Now look at pastries, 
candies, and other forms of cane sugar—absolutely 
devoid of vitamines. 

Study this table carefully, follow its suggestions 
and get back onto the great highway of health. It 
is plain, it is practical, it is simple, and yet it comes 
from the highest authorities in the world and is 
worthy of your most careful consideration, for in it 
is contained the key to health and happiness. 

MENUS 

One of the good plans that has been proposed for 
omnivorous people is that which has been worked 
out by Dr. J. H. Tilden. Its skeleton is, fruit 
once a day, starchy food once a day, flesh or other 
protein with succulent vegetables once a day. Fol¬ 
lowing are some menus based on this plan. 

BREAKFAST: Baked apples, glass of milk. 

LUN CH: Boiled rice with butter. 

DINNER: Roast mutton, spinach and carrots, 
salad of raw vegetables. 

BREAKFAST: Cantaloupe. 

LUNCH: Biscuits or toast with butter, glass 
of buttermilk. 


MENUS 


57 


DINNER: Pecans, two stewed succulent vege¬ 
tables, salad of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, 
(dressing.) 

Eugene Christian has been quite a noted writer 
on health subjects for a number of years. Fifteen 
or twenty years ago he advocated eating more raw 
foods in their natural state. At that time, we knew 
little or nothing about vitamines or the precious 
mineral salts, and yet he found in his experience and 
study and research that these foods in their natural 
condition were essential to a long, healthy life. The 
wonderful discoveries that have been made in the 
last few years but confirmed his judgment, and now 
we have the reason why foods of this kind that are 
rich in the vitamines and mineral salts are so essen¬ 
tial to our health. 

A striking and almost startling example of what 
food, deprived of these vital elements will do to 
break down our health is shown in the form of a 
story of the German raider, Crown Prince Wilhelm, 
which follows in Chapter VII. 

I would ask my readers to read this incident very 
carefully and see what improper food will do in 255 
days to break down the health of five hundred strong, 
sturdy German sailors, and yet the foods they lived 
upon and captured from the ships they sank, are the 
principal foods of the Americans today. 


58 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


I will give a few menus taken from Dr. Chris¬ 
tian’s latest works, '‘Ten Little Lessons on Vitamines.” 

These are selected from a number of sources that 
appear to me the best in giving these menus as an 
outline from which my readers may select and formu¬ 
late a diet that is especially suited to their needs. I 
wish to make this book a key to a long, healthy life, 
and if my reader will please study it carefully and 
adapt such portions as are best suited to his needs, 
I think he will find a great benefit in increased health. 

These menus are simply outlines that can be 
varied, added to or subtracted from, as the needs of 
the individual cases may arise and let me add right 
here, do not be discouraged in trying once or twice. 
It takes time to develop and formulate a series of 
foods and menus that are best adapted to each of 
our individual needs. 

BREAKFAST: 

Cereal - - - Cream or butter, 

One Egg, or very ripe banana with cream, 

Glass of rich milk, 

LUNCHEON: 

Glass of buttermilk, 

Baked potato, 

Poached Egg, 

Celery, ripe olives and nuts, 

Wafers. 


MENUS 


59 


DINNER: 
Clear soup, 
Broiled fish, 


Lettuce or slaw, 
Peas or asparagus, 


Prune whip. 


BREAKFAST: 

Prunes with cream, 

Hominy or oatmeal, 

Glass of milk. 

LUNCHEON: 

Baked kidney or navy beans, 

Slaw or celery, 

Whole wheat or bran muffins and butter. 
DINNER: 

Clear soup, Fish or lamb, 

Boiled onions, Light custard with wafers. 

Baked potatoes. 

Much has been written on how to obtain a bal¬ 
anced ration. In my discussion of the different 
classes of foods, I have tried to explain this as far as 
possible. Not only do we need a balanced ration, 
but need to know how much food shall be taken daily. 

A calorie is a kind of a rude estimate of the 
amount of nourishment in different kinds of food. A 
hundred calories is taken roughly as a unit or basis 
to reckon the food values of the different kinds of 
food. 


60 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


I will give four menus for people to select from. 
Giving one for a man at rest, another for a man 
doing sedentary work, another for a man doing 
hard work and the last one, the average daily meal, 
which I have found to be satisfactory in my case. 

I want my readers to remember that these are 
but outlines to assist each one to make out the menus 
best suited to his individual needs. I wish to re¬ 
mind them also that some foods contain a very high 
calory for producing heat and energy, but are more 
difficult in digestion and far more difficult in elimin¬ 
ating ashes and waste, often seriously overtaxing the 
excretory organs and bringing on premature old age. 
This especially applies to meat and cane sugar when 
used to excess. 


DAY’S MENU FOR MAN AT REST—1800-2000 
CALORIES. TOTAL, 1877 C. 
BREAKFAST****300 C. 

Shredded Wheat. . 100 C. Milk or Cream. . . 100 C. 
Raspberries fresh 50 C. 1 Slice Toast & Pat 

Butter .150 C. 

Cup of Hot Water. 
DINNER********830 C. 

Cream of potato soup Baked macaroni with 

. 260 C. cream sauce ... 190 C. 

I Slice Whole Wheat Butter beets pure. . 30 C. 
bread and pat Sliced peaches ./..50 C. 




MENUS 


61 


butter .150 C. Sugar and cream 150 C. 

Cup of Hot Water. 
SUPPER*******647 C. 

Creamed Green lima beans on toast.200 C. 

Soft boiled egg.100 C. 

1 Butter.100 C. Lady Finger .50 C. 

Creamed tapioca pudd- 1 Cup of Hot Water. 

ing.197 C. 

DAY’S MENU FOR MAN DOING SEDENTARY 
WORK—2200-2800 C. Total 2714 C. 
BREAKFAST******809 C. 

Baked apple .79 C. 1 Slice Graham Toast, 

Milk or cream-230 C. 1 pat butter .. .200 C. 

Bran and oatmeal 300 C. Cup of Hot Water. 
DINNER*****955 C. 

Chicken Roast.... 180 C. Boiled sweet potatoes 

.150 C. 

2 Whole Wheat Bread and 2 pats butter.400 C. 

Fresh Spinach ....25 C. Peach Cobbler with 
Cup of Hot Water. Whipped Cream 200 C. 

SUPPER******950 C. 

Eggs creamed on Cottage cheese ... 100 C. 

toast .500 C. 2 Corn Muffins.. . 300 C. 

Currant Jelly .... 50 C. Cup of Hot Water. 

DAY’S MENU FOR MAN WORKING HARD— 
*******3500-4000 C. Total 3976 C. 












62 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


BREAKFAST******* 1406 C. 

Whole orange ... 100 C. Cream of Wheat 135 C. 
Milk, cream and sugar French Toast with Ma- 


.230 C. pie Syrup.741 C. 

2 pats butter-200 C. Cup of Hot Water. 

DINNER*********** 1486 C 

Ham minced with scrambled eggs.616 C. 

Mashed potatoes 100 C. Cabbage salad with Sugar 
2 Whole Wheat bread & and lemon .... 120 C. 

2 pats butter . .400 C. 3 stewed figs.200 C. 

Tomatoes sliced. ..120 C. Sugar Cookie.50 C. 

Cup of Hot Water. 
SUPPER***********1084 C 

Creamed Chicken on Toast.400 C. 

2 Whole Wheat Bread and 2 pats butter.210 C. 

Green peas with milk Apple Sauce .... 145 C. 

.130 C. 


Cocoanut Cake .. . 209 C. Cup of Hot Water. 

THE AVERAGE DAILY HEALTHFUL MEAL 
Total 2495 C. 

BREAKFAST********775 C. 

Apple Sauce.145 C. 1 Shredded Wheat with 

4 tablespoons Bran, 

Pillsbury .100 C. 

Milk, cream.230 C. 2 Whole Wheat Toast, 

2 pats butter . .400 C. 
Cup of Hot Water 













MENUS 


63 


DINNER**********795 C. 

Baked potatoes.. .100 C. Mutton Chop.300 C. 

Whole Wheat Bread and pat of butter.200 C. 

Lettuce with Lemon and Sugar. 25 C. 


Breaded tomatoes.100 C. Almonds, 20 C. 

Pecans . .20 C. Walnuts . .20 C. Raisins, 2 tea¬ 
spoons 10 C.70 C. 

SUPPER******925 C. 

Potato Cake. ... 100 C. Soft boiled egg.... 100 C. 


1 Plain Muffin and 1 pat butter.200 C. 

Prune Sauce with cream.300 C. 

Two Lady Fingers .150 C. 


Cup of Hot Water. 

Leaf or head lettuce with strained honey makes 
a very nice combination. 

In the January, 1923 1 American Magazine ap¬ 
peared a very interesting article entitled “What 
To Eat” by E. V. McCollum, of the Sthool of 
Hygiene and Public Health of Johns Hopkins Uni¬ 
versity. He says, “Many people even young are suf¬ 
fering from serious digestive troubles after eating 
who think the cause is due to eating some particular 
food, but is really due to unhygienic condition of in¬ 
testines caused by eating wrong kinds of food. Ac¬ 
cording to recent discoveries, when there is a decom¬ 
posing mass in the intestines, it reverses the per- 










64 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


istaltic action and tends to bring things back to the 
stomach instead of from the stomach. 

The gas which forms from this irritated condition, 
does not come from the stomach, but from lower intes¬ 
tines. The regurgitation of gas and intestines cause 
nausea and belching. Bile is forced from intestines 
back into the stomach and some of it goes up as gas, as 
one experiences a bitter taste. This is a typical bil¬ 
lions attack. It is not due to sluggishness of the liver, 
but faulty diet. 

The potato, meat, bread diet does not furnish 
sufficient nourishment to maintain health either in 
animals or men, but should contain greens, vegetables, 
cereals, egg yolks and milk to maintain the required 
vitamines, mineral salts and normal health.” 

Our bodies are built up from the food we eat. 
There is a constant breaking down of the tissues of 
the body. Every movement of every organ involves 
waste, and this waste is repaired from our food. 
Each organ of the body requires its share of nutri¬ 
tion. The brain must be supplied with its portion; 
the bones, muscles, and nerves demand theirs. It is 
a wonderful process that transforms the food into 
blood; and uses this blood to build up the various 
parts of the body; but this process is going on contin¬ 
ually, supplying with life and strength, each nerve, 
muscle and tissue. Those foods should be chosen 


MENUS 


65 


that best supply the elements needed, for building up 
the body. In this choice, appetite is not a safe guide 
Through wrong habits of eating, the appetite has 
become perverted. Often it demands food that im¬ 
pairs health and causes weakness instead of strength. 
The disease and suffering that everywhere prevail, 
are largely due to popular errors in regard to diet, 
but not all foods wholesome in themselves are suited 
to our needs under all circumstances. Our diet should 
be suited to the season, to the climate in which we 
live and to the occupation we follow. Eood that can 
be used with benefit by those engaged in hard physic 
cal labor, is unsuitable for persons of sedentary ha¬ 
bits or intense mental application. Nature’s abun¬ 
dant supply of fruits, nuts and grains is ample, and 
year by year the products of all lands are more gen¬ 
erally distributed to all. Nuts and nut foods are be¬ 
ing used to take the place of meat. Nuts combine 
with grains, fruits and some roots to furnish health¬ 
ful, nourishing foods. Dried fruits are most health¬ 
ful and should be used more freely than is custom¬ 
ary. There should not be a great variety at any one 
meal, as it encourages overeating, and causes indiges¬ 
tion. It is not well to eat fruit and vegetables at the 
same meal. Eat the fruit at one meal and the vege¬ 
tables at another. The meals should be varied from 
day to day, then the food is better relished, and the 


66 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


system better nourished. With the use each day of 
some raw fruit, raw milk, properly pasteurized, and 
fresh, uncooked vegetables, one is assured of getting 
the vitamines now known to be so necessary, and this 
is the cheapest, surest and best way of getting them. 
In man’s tampering with nature’s original form of 
food, we have learned that he was throwing away 
not ony vitamines but valuable minerals, and we know 
we have suffered greatly thereby. Peas, beans, len¬ 
tils and peanuts furnish protein elements for tissue 
repair. Nuts supply fats and other essential elements. 
The use of these foods needs guarding as to quant¬ 
ity, for not everyone can digest them. Most people 
ignore every principle regarding the proper combin¬ 
ation of foods. For a time they may be strong 
enough to do this without apparent harm; but harm 
is being done, and in time will manifest itself. Of¬ 
ten after overeating of too great a variety of foods, 
one will feel badly and have discomfort and blame 
some article of food all right in itself, for the trouble, 
when the cause is really a bad combination of foods. 
A very popular combination, and one that people are 
extremely loath to give up, is the free use of sugar 
and milk, or cream, together. Both are wholesome 
foods in their place, but when put together they are 
a prolific cause of digestive disorders. This is a 
frequent cause of “billiousness,” or billious head- 


MENUS 


67 


aches. Sugar and milk together, or any other sweet 
in excess, fairly makes the liver groan with work. 
Sweets take up so much oxygen from the blood for 
their oxidation that the liver is gorged with blood and 
the digestion of other food is delayed. Acid fruits 
do not combine well with a meat diet, or one that is rich 
in nitrogenous food elements, or one in which starch 
predominates. Fruits are not digested in the stomach 
and if the stomach is empty when they are eaten, 
they soon pass out of the stomach, whereas meat re¬ 
quires several hours in the stomach and delays the 
passage of fruit from this organ, and so fermentation 
results. The best way to eat fruit is to make a meal 
of it, eat all you want, or combine it with toast, zwie¬ 
back, or some toasted cereal. Sweet milk with acid 
fruit is another wrong combination. Fruits and veg¬ 
etables do not make a good combination when eaten 
at the same meal, because of the readiness with which 
both these foods undergo fermentation and decompo¬ 
sition, and if sugar is added to this combination the 
fermentation takes place more rapidly and is more 
marked. Another bad combination is acid fruit and 
tea or coffee with milk and sugar. Many have sour 
stomachs from this mixture. Some of the good com¬ 
binations are: (1) soups, protein food (eggs, nuts 
and legumes) and vegetables, (2) vegetables and cer- 


68 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


eals. (3) vegetable salads and any combination with 
vegetables, milk or cereals. It is understood that 
butter or fat goes with any combination of carbohy¬ 
drates and protein. 


CHAPTER VII. 


REMARKABLE “POISON SQUAD”—500 SAIL¬ 
ORS ON GERMAN RAIDER 

^HE following remarkable history of a German 
Raider during the World War, we take from 
“The Science of Eating” (a book written by Alfred 
McCann,) which is a startling example and convinc- 
ing proof of the bad effects of eating foods that have 
been demineralized and denatured, that is robbed of 
their vitamines and mineral salts—(the kind that most 
of the American people are living on today) is found in 
reading the history of one of the German Cruisers, 
Kronprinz Wilhelm, which raided and sank fourteen 
merchant ships during the World War. 

August 3rd, 1914, the German Cruiser left Ho¬ 
boken, and roamed the seas for 255 days, subsisting 
on supplies taken from French and British merchant¬ 
men, before she bombed them. During this period 
of 255 days, she touched no port, depending entirely 
for coal and provisions! on her raiding ability, and her 
speed of 26 knots an hour in escaping French and 
British war ships. Sept. 4th, 1914, she sank the 
British Steamer Indian Prince, bound from Bahai to 


70 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


New York, after seizing all her coal, meat, white flour, 
oleomargarine, canned vegetables, coffee and soda 
crackers. 

October 7th, the British refrigerator steamer La 
Correntia, bound from Argentina to London, with 
5,600,000 pounds of fresh meat, was sighted. The 
Germans ran her down and took from her enough f re<di 
meat to supply her needs for several years and then 
sank her. Fresh meat, white bread, oleo, and boiled 
potatoes, are generally assumed to be life sustaining 
foods. The Germans unwittingly, had commenced 
to explode that theory. The subtle, slow-moving in¬ 
fluence of their refined, and demineralized diet had not 
yet broken the 500 sturdy German sailors. At the 
end of four months they had no suspicion that the 
fruits of their raids were actually eating into their lives 
and breaking down their health. 

A month passed— more ships were raided and 
bombed after taking all the coal and supplies they 
could store. 

Then the ship’s surgeon began to observe the pal¬ 
lor of the ship’s crew, the dilation of the pupils of 
their eyes and marked shortness of breath, but he 
paid little attention to it. 

But as time went on, more startling symptoms 
appeared, fifty of his men began acting “queerly” and 
they seemed so weak. 


REMARKABLE “POISON SQUAD” 71 

This surgeon did not heed the fact that there is 
a balance of acid and base forming elements in the 
“ash” contents of all food, and forgot that in the food 
he had seized, the base forming elements had all been 
processed out. 

These German sailors did not know a diet of 
refined foods sets up a mild chronic acidosis which 
abstracts the lime salts from the tissues, muscles, 
nerves and bones. 

Then the limbs of the sailors began to swell and 
they suffered muscular weakness, neuralgic pains and 
effusions in joints. They were consuming enormous 
quantities of the refined foods of high caloric value, 
now so extensively relied on as the staples of health¬ 
ful food, and looked in vain for the cause of their 
sickness. 

A few weeks later alarming symptoms began to 
develop. Typical symptoms of paralysis, dilated 
heart, atrophy of muscles and pain on pressure over 
nerves, with well marked anaemia. Ffty of the men 
could not stand on their feet. They were dropping 
at the rate of two a day. It seemed that a curse had 
descended upon the cruiser, and the crew was going 
to pieces. Her wireless told her Newport News had 
given harbor to Prince Eitel Freidrich, so with lights 
out, she made the dangerous run and arrived safely 
at Newport News, with 110 very sick sailors, and the 


72 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

balance of her 500 sailors in dangerous condition, the 
result of living 255 days on refined demineralized 
foods. 

All medical treatment failed, but when Alfred 
McCann, the noted food expert, explained to the ship’s 
surgeon the cause, and also suggested the remedy of 
giving the men food and drink that contained the 
precious mineral salts; a marked improvement was 
soon noted. A tea made from wheat bran,, soaked 
in warm water, was given freely, with water in which 
potato skins had been boiled. The yolks of three 
eggs in whole milk were taken three times a day with 
whole wheat bread, and plenty of fruit. In ten days, 
forty-seven men were almost well, and the more se¬ 
vere cases slowly improved. 

One of the ships this German Cruiser captured, 
had many thousand bushels of wheat, but it was sunk 
and not a bushel of wheat saved, but had these sail¬ 
ors only known the cause of their sickness, and it’s 
cure, a small quantity of this wheat would have fur¬ 
nished them the precious mineral salts, they needed in 
their diet and restored them to health. 

One might ask why does not this diet affect our 
people who live on a similar diet? The answer is, 
they get some off-setting foods, which prevent a 
quick and marked disease, as in the case of the Ger¬ 
man sailors. 


REMARKABLE “POISON SQUAD” 73 

But the evil effects of improper diet are appar¬ 
ent everywhere, as it slowly but surely undermines the 
health oh the American people, lowering their health 
and vitality, and making them susceptible to the at¬ 
tacks of disease and premature old age. 

They were consuming large quantities of the re¬ 
fined foods so extensively used by Americans, and 
they looked in all directions but the right one for the 
cause of their troubles. 

They simply continued to raid as long as any 
strength remained to them. Americans do develop 
the same conditions, but because they eat many other 
off-setting foods, that the German sailors were not 
able to obtain, the severity of the condition is modi¬ 
fied. Thousands of children in the United States 
have always been like the crew of the Kronprinz 
Wilhelm, and they do not obtain these offsetting 
foods in sufficient quantity to maintain proper growth 
and vitality. In the case of adults there are thou¬ 
sands who make improper choices and combinations 
of food, depriving themselves needlessly of these off¬ 
setting bases. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

DIGESTION 


HTHE digestion of the different foods is quite an 
intricate process. The first, and a very impor¬ 
tant process, is mastication. It has a double purpose. 
First, in reducing food to a liquid mass, and second, 
by their mixing with saliva, starch foods are changed 
to maltrose, by the active digestive ferment ptyalin. 
Hence, food should be thoroughly masticated if the 
digestive functions are to be properly carried out. 

If this first step of digestion is properly carried 
out, the subsequent processes are controlled largely 
by the sympathetic nervous system, which telegraphs 
ahead for the kind and quality of the digestive fer¬ 
ments needed to complete the process, which is usual¬ 
ly performed. An excellent rule to avoid eating 
rapidly, is to eat the first four or five mouthfuls slow¬ 
ly, and in this way a pace is usually set for the rest 
of the meal. 

We have five digestive organs, and five diges¬ 
tive fluids. The five digestive fluids are: 

1. Saliva. 

2. Gastric Juice. 


DIGESTION 


75 


3. Bile. 

4. Pancreatic Juice. 

5. Intestinal Juice. 

Saliva changes starch to grape sugar or maltose. 
When the food reaches the stomach it comes in contact 
with the gastric juice, which is a powerful germicide. 
This gastric juice is strongly acid, due to the presence 
Hydrochloric Acid, and it changes albumenoids 
into Peptone. There are about seventy ounces, or 
over a quart, of this fluid secreted everyday by a heal¬ 
thy person for the digestion of three meals. Starch 
digestion goes on in the stomach for half an hour, or 
until enough gastric juice is secreted to make an acid 
medium. 

Stomach digestion is essentially confined to the 
nitrogenous matter of the food, which must be reduced 
to a soluable state before incipient digestion is attained, 
and their preparation for absorption is completed. As 
we begin to eat, this wonderful force that controls 
digestion starts a digestive agent from the walls of 
the stomach known as Pepsin, and its function is to 
render soluble nitrogenous elements of food. 

If we do not eat too much or too rapidly, in normal 
health the action of Pepsin goes on rapidly, so that in a 
few hours after eating protein food, the stomach is 
practically empty, the food passing out of the stomach 


76 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


through the Pylorus into the Duo-denum, for the final 
steps of digestion and assimilation. 

We now come to a very important part of diges¬ 
tion and assimilation, that which takes place in the 
small intestine, sometimes spoken of as the lower stom¬ 
ach. Here the bile, pancreatic juice,and the intestinal 
juices act on the food, immediately after leaving the 
stomach, and here the great absorption takes place. 
It is under their influence that liquid blood is converted 
into solid tissue, and the energy locked up in the food 
is set free through the elements of food. It is well 
said that, “Assimilation is Creation/' Both the starch 
and nitrogenous elements of food have been partially 
liquified, also the sugars and fats are practically so, 
at the temperature of the stomach. Thus we have 
a somewhat heterogenous, semi-liquid mass passing 
into the stages of final digestion. 

The acidity of the stomach's contents is here neu¬ 
tralized, in the Duo-denum, either by the absorption of 
the acid, or by a combination with bases, supplied by 
the bile, pancreatic and duo-denal juices. As the food 
passes into the duo-denum, or upper part of the small 
intestine, very important digestion takes place. The 
pancreatic juice here performs a very important office 
in giving the food a “once over" again digestion. 

The three digestive enzyms secreted by the Pan¬ 
creas have three offices to perform. First, to transform 


DIGESTION 


77 


starch into sugar, the same as saliva. Second, to act 
on raw starch and to complete the breaking down of 
the nitrogenous tissues, the same as gastric juice, and 
third, to emulsify and split fat globules, completing any 
work not performed by the bile. 

The liver secretes a large quantity of bile. Its 
principal office is to emulsify fats, helping to neutral¬ 
ize the strong acid gastric juice so that it will not in¬ 
jure the mucous lining of the bowels. Bile is an 
excretion and secretion. Although a poison itself, 
it destroys other poisons and makes them harmless, 
and it also helps to prevent constipation—altogether 
a very important organ of the body. Thus the food as 
it passes through the small intestine is reduced com¬ 
pletely to suitable form for passage into the blood 
stream. The final splitting of the protein molecules 
into Amino acids is accomplished in the membranes 
of the intestines, and it is claimed by some authorities, 
in the tissues of the body. 

There are three active ferments in the digestion 
of food. Those which split starch and sugar are called 
from the Latin name of starch, Amylases. Those 
that reduce the nitrogenous tissues to their final form 
of assimilation are called Proteolytic ferments, and 
those that split the fats are called Lipases. 

The main object of digestion is not simply to se¬ 
cure a liquid which will be absorbed into the blood 


78 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


stream, but it must reduce these materials to a form 
suitable for use in the body. The main purposes for 
which we take food into the body are to build tissue, 
to restore waste and to supply energy and heat. 
These three great purposes in the selection of food 
should ever be kept in mind, and we should avoid other 
foods that interfere with their digestion and assimi¬ 
lation. 

It is known that the final forms into which foods 
are disintegrated show that the sugar we eat is con¬ 
verted into dextrose and levulose, while the starch is 
changed chiefly into maltose, dexterine and dextrose. 
The fats are emulsifid and split into glycerine and 
fatty acids, and the protein foods are reduced to Amino 
acids. The various Amino acids are the fundamental 
building stones of all the nitrogenous tissues of the 
body. When the various forms of food under the 
influence of enzymic action have ben reduced to the 
proper degree of subdivision they pass readily through 
the walls of the intestines and enter the blood stream 
on their way to new life and new duties. 

In this brief review of the digestion of food, please 
note the changing acidity and alkalinity of the diges¬ 
tive secretions. Saliva mildly alkaline, gastric juice 
strongly acid, then the food products restored to alka¬ 
linity by the digestive ferments, bile, pancreatic, and 
intestinal juices. Remember that the blood must be 


DIGESTION 


79 


maintained slightly alkaline in order to enjoy good 
health. 

Hence, we can see the evil of eating large quan¬ 
tities of cane sugar which can not be digested by the 
human stomach, and which is acted upon only by the 
intestinal enzyme. There are other enzymes that aid 
in digestion, and here the most important digestion 
takes place. 

The most injurious forms of cane sugar are candy, 
rich cake and pastries, which cause fermentation in 
the alimentary tract, seriously interfering with the de¬ 
sire for, and the digestion of wholesome food. The 
whole system is flooded with this acid condition, and 
more or less of it is absorbed into the blood stream, 
throwing an enormous amount of work on the pancreas 
and kidneys. In trying to eliminate, a work they can 
only partially perform, the pancreas and kidneys leave 
a lot of these poisons in the blood to irritate the nerves 
and great nerve centers, seriously interfering with the 
nourishment of the body. 

It is often found that the cause of nervous break¬ 
down is due entirely to the above condition, and in¬ 
stead of an operation to discover and remove some 
local infection, the patient needs a proper diet. Very 
often it is found that the excessive use of cane sugar, 
meat, tea and coffee, or any one of them, is the main 
cause of rheumatism, high blood pressure, kidney and 


80 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

heart trouble. I have talked with hundreds of people 
in my wide travels who are afflicted with these dis¬ 
eases, and nine times out of ten I find that they have 
used one, two or three of the foregoing foods in excess, 
and it has undoubtedly been the cause of their sickness. 
I find a number of the noted physicians who tell me 
their experience is the same with their patients. They 
find in many cases that it is not necessary to perform a 
surgical operation to remove the tonsils or adenoids 
or To extract teeth, but to, recommend a correct diet, 
avoiding the excessive use of these three above men¬ 
tioned foods and drinking plenty of water with what¬ 
ever proper medical treatment might be indicated. 

Meals should be taken at least five hours apart, 
six or seven hours is better. Dr. J. H. Kellogg sug¬ 
gests that for some people two meals are better than 
three, breakfast at eight or nine and dinner at three or 
four. I have my main meal at noon, and I never 
want supper after six P. M., a light supper at that. 
Never eat a hearty meal late at night. Don’t eat too 
many kinds of food at a meal. Many people are 
much better off with two meals, omitting breakfast 
or supper, or eating a little fruit instead at one of 
these meals. 

Each digestive process depends on the thor¬ 
oughness of the preceding one. If you start right and 
masticate each mouth full of food thoroughly so that 


DIGESTION 


81 


it can be swallowed ^without any effort, the sympa¬ 
thetic nervous system takes charge of it and each suc¬ 
ceeding process is well done. If you fail to do your 
part properly it can not be a success. Chew, chew for 
your life. 

Don’t eat except when you are hungry, then your 
system needs it and it can handle it. Most of us eat 
one-third more than we should. Thorough mastica¬ 
tion is the surest way to avoid over-eating. Many 
of us would be surprised if we knew how little food 
we needed, if it was the right kind of food, and taken 
at the proper time Waste and ashes must be elimi¬ 
nated from our systems. 

The drinking of plenty of water, at least ten 
glasses a day, the eating of proper foods, whole wheat 
bread, plenty of wheat bran, with a generous amount 
of vegetables and fruit, will, in a short time, restore 
a normal action of the bowels so that the waste should 
be eliminated at least once a day. Twice is much bet¬ 
ter, morning and night, which practically eliminates 
danger of auto-intoxication. 

Enemas and mild laxatives, spoken of in another 
part of this book, must be resorted to. Don’t allow 
the waste to remain in the system. You never can 
hope to have good health if you do. All great au¬ 
thorities are agreed that it will break down the health 
of anyone whoi neglects this practice, as the re-absorp- 


82 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


tion of the poisons of the system will slowly under¬ 
mine the health, bringing on auto-intoxication, disease 
and premature old age. The body must have plenty 
of water to carry on its functions properly and if we 
fail to drink plenty of water, the waste is absorbed 
from the bowels, carrying with it the poisonous waste 
and we must suffer the consequences of auto-intox¬ 
ication. 

To assist digestion we must have the proper men¬ 
tal condition. The condition of the mind has a pow¬ 
erful influence on the digestion through the sympa¬ 
thetic nervous system influencing every organ of the 
body. It also effects the action of the heart, circula¬ 
tion of the blood, the condition of the skin and the 
condition of the capillaries and some of the excretory 
organs of the body. A well poised mind is the most 
valuable possession in this world, and our mental con¬ 
dition can be improved with the proper exercise of the 
will. If we would but select the proper foods, and be 
careful that they are thoroughly masticated before 
they are taken into the stomach, the following wonder¬ 
ful intricate steps of digestion and assimilation will 
all be carried on in perfect order. When a person 
is laboring under great mental stress of worry, fear, or 
hatred, it is impossible for the digestive organs to 
properly perform their functions. I have always 
tried in my poor way to avoid becoming very angry, 


DIGESTION 


83 


but sometimes the provocation was so great and my 
ability to control below par, that I became very angry, 
and I have noticed a serious disturbance of the diges¬ 
tion always follows one of these conditions. I after¬ 
wards usually feel ashamed and chagrined that I gave 
way to such feeling, even though the provocation was 
great. 

An illustration of the effect of the mind on diges¬ 
tion will give a striking experience of a doctor in mv 
city. This doctor’s wife was an expert in giving cur¬ 
tain lectures, and as the doctor was a very busy man 
she found that the best time to relieve her mind was 
at the dinner table. The doctor discovered that if 
he ate dinner at one of these times he was so much 
disturbed mentally that he had a severe attack of in¬ 
digestion and that it required a day or two of careful 
treatment to recover from it. After he discovered 
this, when he came home to dinner and could foresee 
the impending storm he would excuse himself, go 
down town to a restaurant, eat his dinner in peace 
and have no indigestion afterwards. The case is still 
more remarkable when I tell you that he is an unusu¬ 
ally healthy man with good digestion. 

Here is another story of a man who came home 
to dinner feeling fine, but his wife talked life insur¬ 
ance for a time and he lost his appetite. The dining 


84 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

room should be pleasant and cheerful. Don’t chide 
children severely at the table, avoid all unpleasant 
subjects at this time. 


CHAPTER IX. 

WATER 

r J 1 HE Lord gave us but one real beverage and that 
is water. All the other so-called beverages or 
foods are simply stimulants and sedatives. Milk is 
a very rich and perfect food, one glass having as much 
value as two eggs. Coffee, tea, chocolate and cocoa 
are but stimulants, and their after effects are sedative. 
Their food value is very small, depending largely up¬ 
on the amount of milk, cream ojr sugar put in them. 
When we think of drinking some fluid for the sake 
of supplying the bodily needs we should think only 
of water. If other liquids are taken they should be 
taken only as foods or drugs. 

Water is the best solvent known, and is more 
necessary for the continuation of life than anything 
else except air. Pure natural water contains some 
gases and salts. Water that contains much nitro¬ 
genous substance is unfit for use. If the water is 
very hard and heavily loaded with lime and many 
other salts, it should not be used extensively as a drink 
until it has been boiled for half an hour, or distilled. 
If too much mineral matter is taken into the system 


86 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


the body is unable to get rid of it, and deposits are 
formed in various parts of the body, bringing on too 
early a hardening of the bones and arteries. This 
also helps to cause rheumatism and other diseases and 
may prevent full development of the body. 

The nearer water is soft the more perfect it is 
for drinking purposes. At my home in Joliet, Illi¬ 
nois, the water supply comes from deep wells drilled 
in the limestone, and is very heavily impregnated with 
lime and other minerals. In other parts of the coun¬ 
try, especially Florida, the deep flowing wells have a 
very large percentage of sulphur and other minerals. 
All water of this class should be boiled for one half 
hour. The lid should then be removed from the tea 
kettle while the water is still hot. In this way the 
steam passes off, the air passes back, and the water 
is aerated and it does not taste like boiled water. Pour 
off the top two-thirds of the kettle of water when it has 
cooled, into a bottle or pitcher, and place it in a con¬ 
venient place to use for drinking purposes, throwing - 
away the balance that is in the tea kettle. I find that 
water very heavily impregnated with minerals is not 
so easily tolerated by the stomach, especially when we 
are trying to increase the quantity of water, and it 
throws extra work on the kidneys to remove these 
minerals. If the water supply is not heavily impreg¬ 
nated with minerals and is pure, without danger of 


WATER 


87 


infection, then the boiling is unnecessary. The boil¬ 
ing of water not only removes the excess of minerals, 
but it also gives absolute protection from any form 
of infection that might have been present in the drink¬ 
ing water. 

Water forms about three-fourths of the human 
body and is used for every process that goes on in 
the human body, and “to be dry is to die.” We can¬ 
not successfully run a steam boiler without plenty of 
water, neither can the human body carry on life’s func¬ 
tions successfully without plenty of water. Water is 
absolutely necessary to carry on proper nutrition and 
assimilation of food and to carry the waste part out of 
the body. Water keeps the vital fluids in solution 
so that the different functions of the body can be 
carried on. Without water there would be no sense 
of taste, no digestion, no absorption of food, no ex¬ 
cretion of debris, and hence no life. Water is the 
vehicle by which the nutritive elements are transported 
to the billions of cells of the body and it also helps 
to carry the waste to the excretory organs. We can 
live several weeks without food, but only a few days 
without water. Ice cold or extremely hot water, or 
other beverages are excessively irritating to the human 
stomach. Water is best take warm at meal time and 
cool the rest of the time, but be careful to avoid the 
extremes of heat and cold in its use. 


88 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

The amount of water required in twenty-four 
hours varies as to the circumstances and the season of 
the year. Pour to five pints, or ten glasses a day is 
a very reasonable amount to be taken into the system. 
Two glasses in the morning on arising, a glass of hot 
water at each meal three times a day, two glasses of 
water an hour before dinner and supper, and a glass 
at retiring makes a very desirable combination. 

I have seen a number of very healthy people who 
prefer to drink two cups of hot water at each meal. 
In this case they do not need as much water between 
meals, and such people usually have the very best of 
health. Every one must work this out for himself 
and notice whether he feels better after having taken 
one or two glasses of hot water at a meal. 

Water and all beverages should be taken slowly 
into the stomach. Ice water and ice drinks should 
not be used at all as they retard digestion. Digestion 
will not take place until the stomach has reached a 
temperature of approximately 100° Fahrenheit, and 
if repeatedly chilled it is' very liable to interfere with 
digestion and cause more of less fermentation. Lit¬ 
tle water or fluid should be taken into the stomach for 
at least two or three hours after a meal. 

Most people drink too little water, but if the 
amount has to be increased considerably do so very 
gradually, slowly increasing the amount taken into the 


WATER 


89 


system day by day, thus preventing water logging of 
the body which has a very weakening effect. 

Dr. E. L. Parmeter, of Albion, Michigan, a very 
successful physician, claims that he can cure almost 
any case of constipation by the drinking of ten glasses 
of water a day. I will add that in chronic cases of 
constipation of long standing, a little help is needed to 
get a regular movement of the bowels, until the pro¬ 
per use of laxative foods andj the drinking of plenty 
of water will take care of it. 

When time to retire at night (about 10 P. M.) 
I take a quart bottle of boiled water and an empty glass 
and place them on my bed room dresser, and upon first 
arising in the morning (about 6:30 A. M.) I drink a 
glass of water and another one while dressing. In this 
way, by the time I have finished dressing, built 1 , fires, 
worked in the garden, or performed any household 
duties, enough time has elapsed to allow the water to 
pass out of the stomach, thus washing out any rem¬ 
nants of a former meal, and I have a clean stomach 
for the reception of breakfast. 

Try this plan, and see how much better your 
breakfast will taste, and how much better you can 
digest it and assimilate its life giving elements, and 
the energy and endurance it will give you. If pos¬ 
sible drink water freely again one-half or one hour 
before dinner and supper, and if you are eating right 


90 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

foods, see your strength and weight increase and the 
pink color come back to your cheeks. 

Try it. It costs practically nothing and you will 
feel amply repaid for the very little time it requires 
to do this simple duty. 


CHAPTER X. 

BEVERAGES AND ALCOHOLIC DRINKS 


J)OP, ginger ale root beer, orangeade and many oth¬ 
er drinks of this kind, are very popular summer 
drinks. They have very little food value, and while 
not very injurious, they apparently appeal merely to 
the taste. Pure ice cream, if properly made and eaten 
slowly and not taken after a heavy meal, is consid¬ 
ered a healthful food. When added to soda water 
and the rich syrups that are usually added to it, it is 
a little more difficult to digest. Some beauty spe¬ 
cialists claim that ice cream sodas are bad for the 
complexion and if young women knew this they would 
no doubt eat their ice cream in a plain state. 

Lemons are a very healthful food and should be 
used much more freely than they are at the present 
time. The lemon juice is very rich in the mineral 
salts, but it should not be taken clear into the human 
stomach as it is too strong. When made into lemon¬ 
ade by the addition of a very moderate amount of 
sugar, it makes a very healthful drink. In case of 
severe colds, or threatened attacks of “flu,” la grippe, 
or other diseases, a bowl of hot lemonade at bed time. 


92 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

following a good hot foot bath is an excellent plan 
to assist Nature in ridding the body of these diseases. 

Grape juice is a very healthful drink and should 
be consumed far more freely in the United States than 
it is today. I am not referring to wine or fermented 
beverages. I am simply referring to the pure grape 
juice to which has been added a small amount of sugar 
and brought to the boiling point and canned so that it 
will keep indefinitely. There are many other ways in 
which the pure grape juice is preserved to keep it from 
fermenting and placed on the market. I consider grape 
juice one of the healthiest drinks in the world. Grapes 
are very rich in grape sugar, which is one of the 
healthiest and easiest digested sugars. The Califor¬ 
nia Malaga white grape is especially rich in this grape 
sugar and should be eaten very freely by everyone as 
long as the fresh grapes can be found on the market. 
These grapes, when exposed on trays to the wonder¬ 
ful air and sunshine of California where they grow 
to their greatest perfection, instead of spoiling, simply 
dry up and form our raisins, by the evaporation of 
the water in the grapes. 

Some of the so-called “soft drinks” contain sub¬ 
stances that make them a habit forming drink and their 
use should be condemned. These drinks should not 
be used. 


BEVERAGES AND ALCOHOLIC DRINKS 93 

One of the enemies of health I wish to warn you 
against is drinking coffee. Some people in active 
out-door work, claim they can drink a cup of coffee 
in the morning without any serious bad effect, but 
most people should not use it at all. For fifteen years 
I have not used coffee, although I am very fond of 
the taste. The free drinking of coffee two or three 
times a day, especially at night, cannot be condemned in 
too strong terms. Tea is almost as injurious as cof¬ 
fee, and most people should dispense with both of 
these beverages. The theine in tea is almost identi¬ 
cal with the caffeine in coffee and the effect is almost 
identical in its effect upon the human system. Theine 
also retards digestion. 

If people think they must use these two beverages, 
they should be used sparingly in the morning and well 
diluted with hot water. 

Cereal beverages are perhaps considered the least 
injurious of the so-called beverages which are used at 
meal time. But the best and most healthy of all drinks 
is a cup of hot water (with nothing added) at meal 
time. 

There is a great diversity of opinion throughout 
the world with regard to the food value of wines. 
Some claim that the sour wines' of France, Germany 
and other European countries when made without 
great adulteration are healthy as used by the natives. 


94 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

Other authorities claim that the sweet port wine is 
healthful. The great objection to wines is that they 
have too high an alcoholic content. There are many 
cases of sickness or weakened physical condition due 
to disease, exposure, or old age in which the use of 
a little wine might be beneficial and an aid to the hu¬ 
man system in getting back to normal condition, but 
too free a use of wines with high alcoholic content by 
people in ordinary health does not add anything to their 
strength or length of life. Whenever we use any 
drink that is a stimulant and might give us a temporary 
feeling of improvement it is always followed by a 
corresponding or even greater depression. 

I can not condemn in too strong language the use 
of alcoholic drinks. Whiskey has perhaps caused 
more misery than any other one thing in the world and 
I welcome the Volstead Act as an aid to those who 
have not the will otherwise to withstand this great 
menace. I think it should be the duty of every good 
citizen to try to uphold this law which is now furi¬ 
ously attacked by those who believe in unrestricted 
use of alcoholic beverages. It pleases me to see that 
education along temperance lines is spreading rapidly 
and that people are learning more and more of the 
blighting effects of alcohol. 

Prohibiting the manufacture of alcoholic bever¬ 
ages and whiskey has caused great opposition and 


95 


BEVERAGES AND ALCOHOLIC DRINKS 

many have gone into the manufacture of “Moonshine” 
which is even more dangerous than whiskey. It 
has been known that the drinking of four or five 
ounces of crudely made “moonshine” (about a half 
glass) has in many cases caused total blindness which 
is absolutely incurable. Wood alcohol, fusel oil and 
these other dangerous ingredients which are the pro¬ 
duct of this crude fermentation, without any effort 
having been made to remove them, simply paralyze 
the optic nerve and for the rest of his days this per¬ 
son must be blind—a calamity practically equal to 
death. When a glass full of this dangerous stuff is 
taken at one time it has been known to cause almost 
instant death. These dangerous elements found in 
this crudely made whiskey paralyze the nerves .of the 
heart, and so many people who think they are trying 
to beat the government in evading the law which they 
do not like, but which is made to protect them, will 
persist in drinking these most dangerous concoctions 
sometimes when they know there is a possibility of 
total blindness or death if they continue its use. 


CHAPTER XI. 

MENTAL STATE 

rpnE human body consists of two hundred and 
^ twelve bones, which act as a frame work and 
to which are attached over five hundred muscles that 
give to the body its many movements. 

It is all controlled by two great nervous systems. 
The Cerrebro-Spinal, which must have sleep and 
rest, and the Sympathetic, which never sleeps or rests. 
These two systems are controlled by that God given 
principle which we call life. The sympathetic system 
controls the heart and circulation of the blood and the 
digestive system, and hence we see why it is necessary 
to have the right mental attitude if we hope to have 
good digestion. This is one reason why Christian 
Science has slowly increased. To be a Christian Sci¬ 
entist we must drive fear and the darker passions 
from our mind, and when we do this the digestive 
organs will function properly under normal sym¬ 
pathetic control, but if harrassed by fear, sorrow, wor¬ 
ry and the like the sympathetic nerves do not control 
those organs properly. 


MENTAL STATE 


97 


Some writers divide the mind into the conscious, 
sub-conscious and the super-conscious. The conscious 
mind is governed by the will, and takes cognizance of 
things around us, reasoning out what we shall do. 
This part of the mind must have rest or it becomes 
unbalanced and we become insane. The sub-conscious 
mind never sleeps. It causes us to breathe eighteen 
times a minute, our heart to beat seventy times a min¬ 
ute, and attends to the digestion and assimilation of 
our food. It also works in our sleep as we can often 
remember our dreams. If we are frightened, angry, 
or otherwise not composed when we retire, our dreams 
are liable to be annoying and frightful, while if we 
go to sleep thinking of pleasant things our dreams 
will be of a different character, having happy and beau¬ 
tiful visions. For this reason we should not punish 
a child at bedtime, as it causes the sub-conscious mind 
to work in a combatative manner toward the one who 
punishes him. 

It is by the working of the sub-conscious mind 
that the Christian Scientist, Faith Cure and Hypnotic 
cures are performed. Thus when we learn the effect 
of the mind, we should learn to control it, making it 
a benefit to us instead of a detriment. 

If we keep our minds on pleasant and cheerful 
subjects the same impressions will be made on our 
sub-conscious minds and it will help to carry out the 


98 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

different normal functions of the body. If, however, 
our minds dwell upon fear, hurry, worry, hatred and 
all the darker passions of life the same kind of im¬ 
pressions are made on the sub-conscious mind, seri¬ 
ously interfering with the control and functioning of 
the different organs of the body. 

A number of persons who go to sanitariums are 
surprised and disappointed that they receive no medi¬ 
cine and very little treatment for a time after they go 
there. The fact of the matter is that they are so filled 
with patent medicines and drug habits at first, that 
it is impossible to tell how much their symptoms and 
diseases are due to patent medicines, and how much 
is due to disease. It is necessary to wait until their 
systems are relieved of these poisonous drugs before 
a proper course of treatment can be prescribed. 

I do not believe that there is any surer way of 
shortening life than by continually taking patent med¬ 
icine. Nearly all patent medicines contain alcohol, 
opium, or some nerve stimulant which makes the pa- 
tieints feel better for a time, but leaves them in much 
worse condition than they were before taking it. Pat¬ 
ent medicines, like tobacco,make persons slaves to nerve 
stimulants. This is contrary to Nature, and when we 
break Nature’s laws we have to suffer for it. 

We should cultivate cheerfulness. “Twixt the 
optomist and the pessimist, the difference is droll.” 


MENTAL STATE 


99 


The optimist sees the doughnut, while the pessi¬ 
mist sees the hole.” It is not necessary to be a 
Christian Scientist, we should all be optimists. Most 
of us are enjoying far more blessings than we realize. 
Kvery day that we are free from pain and can sleep 
well and eat three meals we should give thanks to the 
Giver of all Good Gifts. 

We should be thankful for our sanity; twelve 
thousand suicides last year, seventeen of them mil¬ 
lionaires. I will relate a story of a doctor in Ohio 
who used to lecture on cheerfulness, but last year finan¬ 
cial losses unbalanced his mind and he shot himself, 
leaving a wife and three children. Don’t worry. My 
father helped me, he told me that I borrowed more 
trouble than I could pay back in two hundred years. 
When trouble and misfortune come, and they come to 
all, they nearly always come from a source from which 
they might least be expected, so if you can’t worry 
about the right thing, why worry at all. 

We must always remember that trouble and mis¬ 
fortune come to all, and when it comes, we should 
try to meet it as bravely as possible. When friends 
desert or betray us, we should remember that there is 
One who never fails us. Remember also, it is always 
darkest just before Dawn, and few conditions or mis¬ 
fortunes that come to us but what might be more dis¬ 
astrous. 


100 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 
A 

Let us learn to play this game of life with a true, 
steady heart, ever willing to obey the good rules laid 
down for our greatest benefit. We should discard a 
large part of our selfishness and remember that it is 
more blessed to give than to receive. 

Much of the darkness and misery of life would be 
removed, when we learn that one of the malin objects 
of life is to be of service. We should try to forget, 
and not strive and work for many of the trivial affairs 
of life, which if attained, would be of little value to 
us but keeping to the main great object that is worthy 
of our best efforts, then we will get a clearer view 
point of life and its needs, and the desired end. 

From the foregoing remarks, we can see the 
force and importance of keeping the mind on pleas¬ 
ant subjects so that the vital organs may all function 
properly. We should all try to cultivate a cheerful 
disposition. We are creatures of habit. With a lit¬ 
tle practice, one will find he can direct the mind to 
dwell on pleasant subjects just as easy as he can al¬ 
low it to dwell on all the troubles of life. 

We must learn to look on the bright side of life. 
The poet reminds us— 

We must learn to trace the rainbow through 
the rain that promises tomorrow’s sunshine again. 


MENTAL STATE 


101 


We get from others largely the same spirit with 
which we meet our friends. We should learn the fol¬ 
lowing : 

Smile a while and when you smile another 
smiles. There soon will be miles and miles of 
smiles.” 

DR. WILLIAM MAYO’S OPINION 

The Mayo’s Hospital at Rochester, Minnesota, 
was founded many years ago by Dr. Mayo, the 
father of Dr. William and Dr. Charles Mayo, who 
upon the death of their father, carried on the great 
work and enlarged and perfected it until today, it is 
the greatest institution of its kind in the world. 

I have had the pleasure of the acquaintance and 
friendship of three very skilled and successful sur¬ 
geons. They had studied in American, had travelled 
in Europe and had studied in the greatest Universi¬ 
ties of Europe, and after coming back to America, 
I questioned them, and they all agreed that the Mayo 
Hospital at Rochester, Minnesota, is the greatest of 
its kind in the world, and if at anytime, they should 
need some major surgical operation, they would cer¬ 
tainly select this institution to have it performed. 

Dr. William and Dr. Charles Mayo have gath¬ 
ered about them a corps of several hundred of the 
most skilled surgeons and physicians in the world, 


102 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

and when people go there to be examined, which 
examination takes several days, they may rest assur¬ 
ed, they have passed through the most perfect, search¬ 
ing, physical examination that can be found any¬ 
where. I merely give these few words of explan¬ 
ation about the Mayo Hospital, which is known to 
many people, to more fully impress my readers with 
the importance and authority of the following quo¬ 
tation from Dr. William Mayo, in an address deliver¬ 
ed at the College of Surgeons, in Chicago, on Octo¬ 
ber 21st, 1923. 

“Dr. William Mayo says the Human Will is 
Weak.” 

“Man’s proud brain power has not lifted him as 
high above the lower animals as he likes to think,” 
according to Dr. William Mayo. Even when he is 
awake, man is only a quarter conscious of what his 
body is doing, he said. Three-quarters of the energy 
created by the food man eats and the air he breathes 
is spent without his knowing it, Dr. Mayo declared. 

Man’s will power is only about 25 per cent effic¬ 
ient, the surgeon declared. Certain of the misunder¬ 
stood ailments result from the clash when the con¬ 
scious mind attempts to gain control over the uncon¬ 
scious, Dr. Mayo said. Man may think as hard as 
he wishes, but he cannot think his stomach into tak¬ 
ing proper care of the food he eats, for the process 


MENTAL STATE 


103 


of digestion is controlled by muscles endowed with a 
curious type of self control, he said. When emotion¬ 
al influences, spoken of as psychic, get so strong that 
they flood over and try to control the smoothly run¬ 
ning unconscious system, troubles occur. 

“Disturbances which more or less resemble real 
diseases are caused,” Dr. Mayo said. “The trained 
observer knows them to be false, but the enlightened 
patient accepts them as true. Herein, lies the suc¬ 
cess of the cults and quackeries which play these > 
“diseases” for the real thing and reap a harvest.” 

I quote the above extract from Dr. William 
Mayo’s address, as it illustrates so clearly and forci¬ 
bly the position I have taken in my book, that the 
mental state exerts a powerful influence on our diges¬ 
tion, general health and well being. 

Let us learn to try to cultivate this cheerful, 
optimistic temperament so that the impression made 
upon our subconscious mind may be of the best, and 
that have influence and control over the vital organs 
of the body for our well being, that we may enjoy a 
long and healthy life. 

I wish also to call my reader’s attention to a 
speech just recently made by Dr. Charles Mayo at a 
very large gathering of surgeons and medical men. 
In his address, he goes on to enumerate some of the 
wonderful improvements that have been made in sur- 


104 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

gery and in the treatment and prevention of all kind 
of diseases, and at the close of his address, he stresses 
this one point, “the supreme importance of a proper 
diet and balanced ration which is now attracting the 
attention of medical men all over the world.” 

I refer to these two great men, perhaps the 
greatest medical and surgical men in the world today, 
to show the trend that the medical thought has taken 
in the last few years. First, the tremendous power 
and effect that our mental attitude has upon our life 
and health, and the second by Dr. Charles Mayo, the 
even greater importance of the right kind of food and 
exercise. I simply refer to these two great men as 
their thoughts accord so perfectly with the writing of 
this book, and emphasize these great fundamental 
principles that are so absolutely necessary for us to 
follow if we wish to live to a healthy old age. 


CHAPTER XII. 

SLEEP 

gEEEP is one of the most important functions of 
the body. As the physiologist Bohm remarks: 
“A man can live for a month without food, but he must 
succumb after a few days if he fails to sleep ” Sleep¬ 
lessness soon leads to insanity and death. 

According to our present physiological knowledge, 
the center of sleep is seated in the brain, as the other 
functions, such as intelligence, will power, imagina¬ 
tion, etc. The thyroid gland, to a great extent, con¬ 
trols our nervous system and mentality. Arnold 
Lorand, with a great mass of evidence, goes on to 
prove that this gland has a powerful influence on our 
sleep, and when this gland is diseased or altered, it 
produces a marked effect upon our ability to enjoy 
normal sleep. 

According to Obersteiner and Binz, during sleep, 
the waste which has accumulated in the brain dur¬ 
ing the day is removed by the blood. Everything 
points to the fact that through sleep we are getting 
rid of the toxic products, and sleep is thus a function, 
the regularity of which is of the utmost importance 


106 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

for our prospects for prolonged and healthy old age. 

The thyriod gland destroys toxic products form¬ 
ed in the intestines, especially those toxins caused by 
the distruction of albumenoids—as we often notice 
sleepiness after dinner when partaking of a large 
amount of meat. 

As the Pituitary body and the thyroid are in 
close relationship, this body may also have some in¬ 
fluence on sleep. Prof. Sajour in 1903 pointed out 
that the adrenals also have an influence on sleep. The 
adrenals play a great role in the destruction or neu¬ 
tralization of microbic or other poisons introduced in¬ 
to the system, and are unquestionably anti-toxic 
glands. While the great scientists have been unable 
to explain in detail just how these ductless glands are 
performing such an important part in the human 
economy, they are agreed that they will perform their 
normal functions and duties in the human economy 
if we but do our part in carrying on the harmonious 
zvorkings of the human body. 

It is impossible to have a set rule or to state just 
how many hours of sleep a person should have every 
twenty-four hours, because some people require more 
sleep than others, due to their work, their mental and 
physical condition and their age, but we may say in 
general terms that most people should have at least 
eight hours sleep. At least a third of the twenty- 


SLEEP 


107 


four hours should be spent in bed. I prefer to re¬ 
tire about ten o’clock and arise about six o’clock in the 
morning. The time of retiring, like all of our habits, 
should be regular. It is a very poor plan to go to bed 
extremely early one evening, and very late the next 
night. The best rule to follow in the amount of 
sleep one needs is to note how you feel in the morn¬ 
ing when you awaken. One should feel entirely rest¬ 
ed, refreshed, and ready for business. If one feels 
dull and sleepy and tired upon, arising there is some¬ 
thing radically wrong in his diet, in the amount of 
exercise he takes, or in the amount of time he has 
spent in bed. 

Bed-rooms should be well ventilated, but at the 
same time so arranged as to prevent drafts of cold 
air from blowing on us when we are asleep. This 
can be accomplished in many cases by not opening the 
windows too wide. I would suggest not opening the 
windows too wide in the direction from which the 
wind is coming, but on the other sides of the room 
the windows should be opened wide. Often a hall or 
adjoining bed-room can add an indirect ventilation. 
A window board will often prevent a direct draft 
from blowing upon us, and yet allow a free exchange 
of pure air. A curtain can be arranged to prevent 
drafts, or a coat or blanket can be placed over the 


108 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

back of a chair and placed two or three feet from the 
window to prevent draft. 

There is a great difference of opinion about the 
proper position we should assume when sleeping. 
Some authorities claim it is the most healthful to sleep 
on the back, others claim that it is much more health¬ 
ful when we sleep on our sides. If turned on our 
right side, with the limbs slightly flexed, which is 
better than our left side on account of interfering 
with our heart action, it an excellent position, although 
others prefer to lie on their backs. This must be set¬ 
tled by each one, who can tell by experience the posi¬ 
tion which is best suited to him and in which he can 
receive the most benefit and rest from his sleep. As 
far as possible, we should dismiss from our minds 
upon retiring all of the cares and perplexities of the 
day. Avoid all excitement as far as possible, and 
intense brain work before retiring, eating a light sup¬ 
per at least three or four hours before bedtime. With 
a little practice one will see that this will be very helpful 
in producing sleep soon after retiring. A very young 
baby should sleep, nearly all of the time and if proper¬ 
ly cared for and not over-fed, will usually do so. As 
a child grows older it requires less sleep and when we 
get quite along in years, we need still less sleep. 

I can not emphasize too strongly the importance 
of sleep. As the poet says, “Nature’s sweet restorer, 


SLEEP 


109 


sleep.” In sleeping, the heart beats less frequently 
and less forcibly, the breathing is slower, the mind is 
at rest, and the sub-conscious mind is making repairs 
as a result of the day's activities. This sleep should 
be undisturbed in order to get the best results. Chil¬ 
dren should always go to bed early in order to have 
enough time to sleep. Regularity must be observed. 
Those who are in a more or less weakened condition 
can often obtain a great deal of benefit from a “nap” 
taken during the daytime. When in a reclining po¬ 
sition the work of the heart is lessened and all func¬ 
tions of the body require less energy to be carried on. 
It is an excellent habit for anyone who has a few min¬ 
utes to rest during the daytime to lie down, even if one 
does not sleep. Some people feel better not to sleep 
in the daytime, because they sleep better at night if 
they have not slept during the day. This has been 
my personal experience. One can get far more rest 
and recuperation from a half hour’s lying flat on an 
easy couch with the eyes closed, and the muscles of the 
entire body relaxed, than he can obtain from two or 
three times this length of time while standing up or 
even sitting in a chair trying to read or do some spe¬ 
cial work that required some amount of energy. 
Dreaming comes largely from bad habits and generally 
follows some imprudence in diet or lack of exercise. 


110 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

A tepid bath just before retiring is a great aid 
to sleep. If it is not convenient to take a complete 
bath, a foot-bath upon retiring is very beneficial in 
drawing the blood from the brain and keeping the 
feet in excellent condition. This latter suggestion 
applies especially to those whose work requires them 
to be on their feet the greater part of the day. A 
good normal sleep is not harassed by dreams and we 
waken from it thoroughly refreshed. 

A comfortable bed with good springs and mat¬ 
tress has much to do with our enjoying healthful 
sleep. I recommend a small, soft pillow. Very 
large pillows may cause a gradual curvature of the 
spine and round shoulders. 


CHAPTER XIII. 

THE HUMAN HEART AND STOMACH 


H A sound heart is the life of the flesh.” Prov. 
** 14:30. 

“The life of the flesh is in the blood.” Lev. 17:11. 

From the book “Life” by Dr. John H. Kellogg, 
I have quoted a few paragraphs that graphically des¬ 
cribe some of the wonderful functions of the heart. 

“Of all the marvelous organs of the body, per¬ 
haps the heart is the most wonderful. No one knows 
what makes the heart beat. It is a witness to the never 
failing beneficent care of an Ever Present Intelligence. 
From birth to death this living pump never lays down 
its work for a moment, but goes on beating, now fast, 
now slow, feebly, or vigorously, as the needs of the 
body may demand. It drives the blood, the living 
stream of life bathing every cell and tissue, feeding 
every organ, and washing away the waste particles. 

Another Will, Another Intelligence, beyond our 
control is ever present to see and direct and supply our 
ever changing need.” 

The heart is about the size of the fist of its owner. 
Every moment we continue to live depends upon a 


112 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

healthy heart, and yet people will deliberately continue 
to use coffee and tobacco, and other foods that ser¬ 
iously interfere with the heart’s work. I will only say 
to those who use these things to excess, “you are sim¬ 
ply flirting with the undertaker.” 

A good, healthy blood current is an absolute ne¬ 
cessity to health and any length of life. The blood 
is composed of cells, white and red, the plasma, and 
the watery portion the serum. The red cells are by 
far the most abundant and in healthy blood should 
number five million to one cubic centimeter or about 
one drop. An adult man has twenty thousand times 
as many blood cells as there are people on the earth, 
in a single row would reach several times around the 
world. Yet they claim the average life of a red cell 
is six weeks, hence if we are wise we will eat good food 
that will nourish the blood. The red cells carry oxy¬ 
gen to the tissues and carry away the waste. 

The white cells are watchmen, that protect us 
from germs of disease. When these germs enter the 
body, each white cell has the intelligence to capture 
and destroy it, or if in great numbers to build a wall 
around the diseased part, or carry the dead germs, and 
with worn out blood cells deposit them in the spleen. 

Blood cells are manufactured in the marrow of 
the long bones, and especially in the ribs. When we 
remember many million blood cells must be manufac- 


THE HUMAN HEART AND STOMACH 113 

tured every day of our lives, we begin to realize how 
necessary it is to eat food that will produce them, and 
avoid foods that will interfere with their manufacture. 

It is almost startling when we study the human 
needs for twenty-four hours; we breathe eighteen 
times a minute, over one thousand times an hour and 
twenty-five thousands times every twenty-four hours. 

Our heart beats seventy times a minute, over four 
thousand times an hour and over one hundred thou¬ 
sand times every twenty-four hours. These figures 
when at rest. When we work and exercise they are 
increased at least one-fourth. 

It has been carefully estimated that the work of 
the human heart in twenty-four hours, is equal to lift¬ 
ing one hundred twenty-four tons one foot high. 

I have mentioned only the lungs and heart, when 
we consider all the other organs of the body which must 
be kept in operation, we can begin to realize some of 
the needs of the human body for twenty-four hours. 

When we add to these needs, the strain of labor, 
and over-work, sometimes under the most trying and 
unhealthy conditions, we can begin to realize how ne¬ 
cessary it is for us to eat those foods which are adapt¬ 
ed to supply our bodily needs, with the least disturb¬ 
ance to our digestive organs. 

For centuries the greatest scientific men of the 
world have been searching in vain to find what life 


114 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

is. They have been able to separate a plant into all 
of its elements and know exactly what it is composed 
of, just what elements and just what amount of each 
kind of elements makes up this plant; but when they 
put these elements together in their proper proportions, 
they fail to make the plant because they cannot fur¬ 
nish the great God given power, we call Life. The 
same is also true of animals. We can separate ani¬ 
mals and find out just what the body is composed of, 
put them together but we cannot breathe into them the 
breath of Life. That comes alone from God. 

I wish to quote the following short editorial in 
the Joliet Herald-News, which illustrates this won¬ 
derful fleeting element and yet speaks so beautifully 
of the Eternal Mystery—so fleeting—and yet so last¬ 
ing, more lasting than granite: 

“A sweet-pea seed, after lying dormant five thou¬ 
sand years in the clenched hand of an Egyptian mum¬ 
my, was taken to Cincinnati and planted in the gar¬ 
den of Mrs. Samuel H. Taft. 

The seed sprouted. It produced flowers and more 
seed—enough to help buy a mummy for the Cincin¬ 
nati museum. 

The same has been done with wheat found in 
ancient tombs. 

What is the mysterious thing in those seeds that 
could sleep fifty centuries without dying? 


THE HUMAN HEART AND STOMACH 115 

Answer that and you solve the Hternal Mystery i 
What is life? 

Life—creature of machinery so fragile and mi¬ 
nute that even the microscope cannot discover its se¬ 
crets—is more lasting thart granite.” 

If people could only remember how wonderful 
this principle is, they would be more careful in taking 
care of their bodies and observing the general laws 
of health. If we should be fortunate enough to own 
an extra house which we could rent and we had an 
excellent tenant who took good care of the premises 
and paid his rent promptly, if we are a good business 
people, we would probably try to keep up the premises 
in a good state of repair so as to retain this good ten¬ 
ant of ours. If we would apply this same business 
principle to our own bodies, we might more forcibly 
see the advantages, nay, the necessity of keeping this 
human tabernacle of ours in a good state of repair 
so that our spiritual natures may reside with us for 
a longer time. Few people realize that when the 
conditions are favorable for such action how quickly 
we can pass on into the great Unknown. The hold of 
life that some people have on their bodies is remarka¬ 
ble. It seems able to withstand such a large amount of 
abuse, such a large amount of the tax of the various 
forms of disease but on the other hand there is hardly 


116 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

a day but we see how fleeting is this Eternal Mystery 
of Life. 

We can scarcely pick up a paper but we read an 
account of someone, who apparently in good health, 
suddenly drops dead without any premonition or warn¬ 
ing. Now, healthy people do not die suddenly in this 
way. It is the ones who have been abusing their 
body or resorting to excesses of some kind that causes 
the heart to stop. It may be they have been smoking 
to excess, or the excessive use of coffee, meats, cane 
sugar, and rich pastries. These are the more com¬ 
mon causes which bring on high blood pressure which 
causes so much extra wcxrk for the heart, and after a 
time the muscles of the heart become completely worn 
out and stop. Dissipation and excesses of all kind, 
great excitement, extraordinary physical exertion, 
working clear beyond one’s strength without proper 
rest and proper food also are very strong factors to 
bring about these sudden deaths. 

Nearly all writers of note, who have spent years 
in the study of health subjects and long life, empha¬ 
size the importance of leading a temperate life as far 
as possible avoiding all great excitement and all stim¬ 
ulants that upset the natural functions of the heart 
and the different organs of the. blood. 

The state of mind that some people seem to be 
in of constant worry and borrowing trouble, seriously 


THE HUMAN HEART AND STOMACH 117 

interfere with the functions of the heart and all the 
other organs of the body. One of the greatest bat¬ 
tles in life is the battle with itself. We might find it 
is never ended, but it is well as far as possible to get 
complete control of ourself and one great danger that 
confronts us is to be able to be cool, collected and still 
able to do the right thing at the right time. We are 
creatures of habit. If we fail to exert an ordinary 
amount of restraint, we are getting worse and worse; 
while if we cultivate our will power, we can notice a 
greater improvement and we learn to be able to con¬ 
trol ourselves much better under all trying circumstan¬ 
ces, and thus preserve the normal functions of the heart 
and all the other vital organs. 

THE HUMAN STOMACH 

Under the head of “Digestion,” I have described 
in detail the office and function of the human stomach, 
the most abused and yet most necessary of our vital 
organs. I just wish to add a word of caution in regard 
to the care of the stomach that will be of service to my 
reader. 

In the first place, remember: “The stomach is not 
a play-house but a work-shop and can use only the 
material we supply.” My advice is this: keep on good 
terms with your stomach because if you get into trou¬ 
ble with your stomach, as you certainly will if you 


118 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

abuse it, you will get the worse of the controversy 
as the stomach always has the last word. Many peo¬ 
ple do not realize that the eating of improper foods 
especially cane sugar, candy and rich pastry, that are 
not digested until passed through the stomach, is the 
cause of a great deal of our stomach trouble, causing 
fermentation, and a sour, acid, irritated condition and 
formation of gases and a general discomfort of the 
stomach of the one who abuses it. 

If this abuse is kept up for some time, the lin¬ 
ing of the stomach becomes inflamed and after a time 
ulcers are formed which is a very' serious condition, 
and means a serious breaking down of the patient's 
health. If this continues, these ulcers take on a ma¬ 
lignant form and growth of cancers are started, which 
is a very serious condition. 

Some of our modern banquets simply outrage 
the human stomach, unless those who attend, use con¬ 
siderable restraint in the choice of, and amount of 
food consumed. 

These banquets usually occur late in the evening 
or night, after the usual three meals have been eaten. 

When I attend these banquets, which occur ear¬ 
ly in the evening, and takes the place of supper, I us¬ 
ually select a few articles of nourishing food I like, 
and do considerable talking, and not quite so much 


THE HUMAN HEART AND STOMACH 119 

eating, as some of my friends, and feel much better 
the next day than they do. 

Another great error against our stomach is the 
taking of too many kinds of food at the same meal, 
imperfect mastication of the food and the last and 
greatest error of eating too much. The older I get, 
the more careful I am of what I eat, and I see the 
greater necessity of treating myj stomach in a proper 
manner. I wish you luck for all you get out of this 
world if you have a badly disordered stomach and 
digestion. It matters not what your position or wealth 
may be, 

TAKE MY ADVICE AND KEEP ON GOOD 
TERMS WITH YOUR STOMACH 

Like the other organs of the body, the stomach 
must have rest if we expect it to function properly. 
There should be at least five hours time between meals, 
giving time for the stomach to digest its food and to 
have rest before being called upon to work again. 


CHAPTER XIV. 

LAXATIVES 

T DO not advise the continual use of these but only 
as expedient until such time as the individual can 
secure prompt and proper elimination of the alimen¬ 
tary tract by the use of coarse food, plenty of fruits 
and vegetables, bran and the use of the coarse, dark 
breads and drinking of nine or ten glasses of water 
daily. There are cases in which it is necessary to use 
some form of artificial laxatives. If one wishes to 
enjoy good health and reasonable length of life, prompt 
elimination of waste of the body must be removed at 
least once a day, (twice a day is much better, morn¬ 
ing and night.) 

If the individual after faithfully trying the fore¬ 
going suggestion in regard to food, drinking of water 
and plenty of exercise, fails to attain this proper elim¬ 
ination, then I suggest the following laxatives: 

Mineral Oil or as it is sometimes spoken of, par¬ 
affin oil, is not a cathartic but strictly speaking, is a 
lubricant. It is tasteless and odorless and does not 
interfere with the digestive functions of the body. 
Mineral Oil is given freely in some of our great san- 


LAXATIVES 


121 


itariums. It is sometimes taken in two tablespoon 
doses at night. Some obstinate, severe cases of con¬ 
stipation require considerable more and find it neces¬ 
sary to take it oftener, possibly a tablespoon full a half 
hour or an hour before each meal. The amount and 
frequency with which we should use mineral oil varies 
with the different conditions of the individual. Only 
such amounts should be taken as it is necessary to 
obtain desired results of free elimination of the waste 
and ashes of the body. There are some very obstinate 
cases in which mineral oil is not sufficient; cases in 
which the individual perhaps for many years has re¬ 
sorted to pills and severe harsh cathartics which leave 
the elementary tract in a worse condition than it was 
before and injures the delicate mucus lining of the 
intestines. 

When we come to speak of laxatives proper, it 
is considered among physicians that cascara aromat- 
ica is among the very best as it may be taken for some 
length of time without serious injury and without 
losing its effect so that the dose must be increased as 
time goes on. A teaspoon full dose at bed time of 
this cascara aromatica is ample for ordinary cases. 
It is well for those who are afflicted with obstinate 
constipation to also continue the use of the mineral 
oil in smaller doses. But I think the finest laxative 
that is known to the medical profession is phenol- 


122 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

phthalein. It is not a harsh cathartic but affects the 
peristaltic action of the bowels, and can be taken for 
quite long periods without injury to the individual. 
Phenol-phthalein is prescribed by many physicians and 
is put up in various forms for use. I consider 
Analax Fruit Tablets a very good form, which is very 
pleasant,and one of the very best laxatives known. 
In this form, Ager Ager, Valerian, Citric Acid and 
other mild laxatives which increase its sufficiency, are 
added to phenol-phthalein. These little fruit tablets 
come in boxes of about twenty-five and are the size 
of a bean. They are mixed with fruit juices and are 
very pleasant to take. One of these at night is usu¬ 
ally sufficient to bring about the desired results or a 
half one sometimes is all that is necessary to give. 
They are also very; nice to give to children. A half 
or 1-3 of one would be sufficient for children when in 
need of a laxative. 

I have known cases where Analax Fruit Tablets 
have been used for years, in cases where the proper 
elimination could not be obtained with vegetables, fruit, 
bran and the drinking of plenty of water, without any 
serious results; and they do not seem to lose their 
effects or is it necessary to increase the dose as it is 
necessary in cases of most laxatives. 

Understand me, I do not advise the use of these 
laxatives unless it is absolutely necessary, but I do 


LAXATIVES 


123 


advocate as an absolute necessity, the prornpt removal 
of all waste from the body daily. If from any cause, 
we find a stoppage of this removal, then I recommend 
the use of the enema. A quart of warm water, about 
body temperature, in which a little castile or ivory 
soap has been used too obtain a mild soap suds, is one 
of the most effective. A teaspoonful of salt to the 
pint of water, which is about the normal salt solution 
of the body, is also advocated by some. In taking 
enema always lie on the right side. After using this 
warm soap suds water, retain for a few minutes and 
then follow with another enema of a quart of clear 
water, a few degrees colder than the first. This 
enema being a little colder, acts as a stimulant to the 
mucus membranes of the bowels; and it also washes 
out the soap and helps to make a thorough elimina¬ 
tion of the waste. This is a very healthful thing for 
everyone to do every week or two at least, for we must 
remember that the colon is the breeding plaice for 
bacteria and it is cause of many dangerous diseases. 

Many writers lay special stress on using a more 
thorough enema, also referred to as an internal bath. 
In using this, use two quarts of warm water, a trifle 
warmer than the body heat, then assume a position 
of the knees with the hips elevated and the hand to the 
floor. In this position gravity assists in carrying the 
waste to the ascending transverse and descending co- 


124 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

Ion in flushing out the entire colon. Other writers 
claim that this is not necessary except in extreme cases, 
as the ordinary enema described before is ample es¬ 
pecially when the warm soap suds water is' used first 
and followed with a quart of clear, cooler water 
immediately afterwards. 

No person must expect to live to an old age and 
be free from pain and disease who does not faithfully 
watch and see that there is prompt and thorough elim¬ 
ination of all the waste matter of digestion. It matters 
not if you follow all the other excellent rules and sug¬ 
gestions; but if you fail on this, you will not have per¬ 
fect success nor enjoy perfect health. Neglect of this 
important matter causes auto-intoxication, headaches, 
loss of appetite, kidney trouble and the poisoning of the 
entire system with germs and toxins which will slowly 
but surely undermine their health. 

These suggestions about elimination apply with 
special force to those who have passed middle life. 
Few people, past fifty years of age,who are not afflicted 
more or less with constipation. As we grow older the 
organs of the body do not function quite so perfectly. 
The secretions of the body grow a little less and usu¬ 
ally the amount of exercise is lessened. These and 
other causes tend to bring on this trouble as we get 
older and elimination is not so perfect then. Our re¬ 
sistance to disease is not so great and wc cannot with- 


LAXATIVES 


125 


stand the attack of these germs and toxins if allowed 
to remain within the blood. If these toxins are al¬ 
lowed to accumulate in'the body, they will slowly but 
surly destroy us, bringing on disease and premature 
death. ' 


CHAPTER XV. 

NARCOTICS 


T N a small book of this kind, it is impossible, in fact 

not necessary for me to go into detail on narcotics. 
I will simply mention a few of the more dangerous 
ones. 

Perhaps the opium habit is as prevalent as any 
other form of narcotics used. When this dangerous 
habit is once fixed upon a person, he is in a very 
serious condition. Most physicians, as well as many 
people, are very careful in the use of the hypodermic 
needle. When suffering greatly from pain in long, 
lingering diseases, it is quite easy after a time to ac¬ 
quire the habit of using morphine (the active princi¬ 
pal of opium) which is a very great calamity. 

Many people may be very much surprised to know 
that the United States consumes far more opium than 
China or any other country. Recent statistics show 
that the United States consumes annually 36 grains 
of opium per capita in comparison with India, 27 
grains; France, 4; England, 3; Germany, 2; China, 2; 
and Italy, 1. 


NARCOTICS AND TOBACCO 127 

Cocaine is also a very dangerous habit forming 
drug. Its victims are often quite numerous, more 
so than is generally thought. Heroin is also another 
dangerous enemy. 

Each and all of these narcotics should be used 
as little as possible and for as short a time as possible. 
Many times their use is almost a necessity, but beware 
of their continued use as there is great danger of the 
habit being fastened upon one, and when once fasten¬ 
ed upon a person, the poor victim is almost hopelessly 
at its mercy, as it slowly and surely saps his strength, 
his will power,breaks down his health and rqbs him 
of all the main things that life is worth living for. 

TOBACCO 

Two billions of dollars a year for tobacco; that is 
our annual bill. This without considering the indi¬ 
rect loss caused by soil depletion, loss of efficiency, 
ill health and shortened lives. Cigaret smoking has 
increased 2,000% in the last twenty years. In Amer¬ 
ica today tobacco is produced on over 4,000,000 farms, 
in spite of the fact that tobacco probably depletes the 
soil more than any other plant grown. The cigaret 
was first introduced into this country in 1876 at the 
Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. Today we 
are consuming over 55,000,000,000 factory, or “tail¬ 
or-made/ J cigarets a year. 


128 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

Tobacco is an injury to the human system by 
reason of the deadly nicotine contained in it. Nico¬ 
tine is a deadly poison, 1-16 of a grain has caused 
death. Its action is very quick, much the same as 
prussic acid. The first effect of a small amount of 
nicotine is stimulating, then followed by a corres¬ 
ponding or even greater depression, and when taken 
in large quantities it is accompanied by palpitation of 
the heart. When tobacco is used in not too great 
quantities,Nature tries to adjust herself to this poison, 
just as she tries to adjust herself to many other 
abuses which we impose upon her by improper diet 
and lack of exercise. So it is that a great many 
people who are using tobacco, some of them quite 
freely, cannot see any injury to themselves. Yet at 
the same time they are seriously interferring with 
their heart’s action, one of the most important organs 
to preserve our life and health, and they do not real¬ 
ize this condition until attacked by some serious ill¬ 
ness like pneumonia, typhoid fever, or various dis¬ 
eases, and then the heart will give out, showing the 
abuses it has been putting up with for the previous 
months or years. The use of tobacco leads to crav¬ 
ing for alcoholic beverages. It is a dirty, filthy habit 
which is often very objectionable to the user’s friends 
and other members of their'families who do not use 
tobacco. 


TOBACCO 


129 


There is a considerable emotional defense for 
tobacco, but if we may consider the subject through 
the light of scientific laboratory analysis, and experi¬ 
ment, we find that all of this emotional defense is 
over-weighed. To quote from an article which ap¬ 
peared in the May 1914 issue of Efficiency Magazine. 

As as result of a series of experiments by Dr. A. D. 
Bush it has been ascertained that tobacco smoking 
causes a decrease of 10.5% in mental efficiency. 
There was a series of 120 tests on each of fifteen 
men in several different psychic fields. The men 
who volunteered for the tests were all medical stu^ 
dents ranging in age from twenty-one to thirty-one 
years, and of varying previous experience, from the 
farm laborer to the life-long student. The subjects 
were attendants at the University of Vermont, where 
Dr. Bush is an instructor in physiology.” 

This expression will check up very closely with 
several experiments which have been made since, at 
different times, and in different parts of the country 
in leading medical schools, colleges and universities. 
In all there are nineteen different substances yielded 
by tobacco in its different forms of use and not one 
of these is in any way beneficial to a normal, healthy 
individual. Included in these nineteen different sub¬ 
stances we find furfurol, carbon monoxide and nico¬ 
tine. It is said that the cigaret smoker inhales less 


130 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

nicotine than does either the person who smokes a 
pipe or a cigar, but a much larger amount of furfurol 
is taken into the system, which is fifty times more 
toxic than alcohol. 

My advice to parents is, “Try to prevent your 
sons from using tobacco.” My advice to users of 
tobacco is this, “Use it in great moderation, and bet¬ 
ter still stop the filthy habit, because it is doing you 
an injury although you may not realize it at the pres¬ 
ent time.” 

It would be better if you took the money spent 
for tobacco and threw it into the fire, or better still 
if you invested that money in some safe way to take 
care of you in old age. Many like the pipe and think 
it is the least harmful way in which to use tobacco, 
others prefer cigars and cigarettes. I consider cigar¬ 
ettes one of the most dangerous forms in which to¬ 
bacco is used. A number of brands of cigarettes are 
doped with habit forming drugs and when smoked 
by boys, and especially young boys, it is intensely 
harmful to them, much more so than it would be for 
them| later in life. 

If you will read carefully in my book where I 
tell of the enormous amount of work which the hu¬ 
man heart performs every twenty-four hours, the 
equivalent of lifting 24 tons one foot high, you will 


TOBACCO 


131 


readily see the enormous amount of work the heart 
has to perform when in a normal condition. 

How foolish and short-sighted it is of us to vol¬ 
untarily acquire and persevere in a habit that is seri¬ 
ously interfering with the action of our heart. The 
calls upon the heart are very great, it never lays 
down its burden for a moment from the cradle to the 
grave, it is absolutely vital to our very life and exis¬ 
tence, and we are going to need every particle of 
power that the Lord has given us in this heart. 
Special calls will be made upon it during great ex¬ 
ertion, great mental emotion and especially when 
we are attacked with some dangerous disease like 
typhoid or pneumonia. Then we will fully realize 
that we want all of that surplus strength which we so 
foolishly discarded and used up in an improvident 
manner by use of narcotics and stimulants and other 
grave faults of diet and right living. 

“Get the number of applicants for entrance ex¬ 
amination the last twenty-five years that have been 
turned down for “Tobacco Heart” in the United 
States Naval Academy.” 

The foregoing investigation will certainly aid 
me in trying to impress upon my readers that tobac¬ 
co causes a serious injury to our health. It's effects 
are slow and often are not recognized by the one who 
uses it, but it is surely doing an injury to the one who 


132 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

persists in its use, especially those who use it to ex¬ 
cess. 

To those who are a slave of some narcotics or 
to alcoholic drinks, the most practical thing to do, in 
fact, about the only successful way to be freed from 
these terrible habits is to enter some institution who 
devote their entire time to help those to reform who 
are a slave to some narcotic. It is practical and I 
have seen a great many people restored to a normal 
condition. After one has taken the cure, he should 
avoid his old associates and form new habits in 
life and in this way avoid a recurrence of this trou¬ 
ble. In this way, I have seen a great many peo¬ 
ple who have taken the treatment remain perman¬ 
ently cured. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

EXERCISE 

ALSAKER rightly says, “It is well to exer¬ 
cise until there is a comfortable feeling of fati¬ 
gue. If this is done the heart works vigorously, 
sending the blood rapidly to all parts of the body, 
and the lungs also coming into full play to supply the 
needed oxygen. This acts as a tonic to the entire 
system.” 

If you will carefully read my chapter on the 
human heart in another part of this book, you will 
readily see how exercise is so necessary to our very 
existance. The heart pumps blood into the arteries 
and to the capillaries, but here most of the work of 
the heart stops. When the blood returns to the 
heart through the veins, which are twice the size of 
the arteries, other forces assist in getting the blood 
back to the heart. The principal forces which assist 
in forcing the blood back to the heart are exercise of 
the muscles and deep breathing, as they cause a 
vacuum, which helps to suck the blood back. There 
is a system of valves in the veins which prevents the 
blood from returning to the capillaries and arteries, 


134 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

and if we exercise and use the muscles of the body, 
we force the blood through the veins back to the 
heart again to be sent through the lungs and then to 
the left ventricle of the heart, which again forces the 
blood to the extremeties of the body. This complete 
circulation of the blood through the body requires 
but one or two minutes. As we study the system of 
circulation the absolute necessity of a reasonable 
amount of exercise becomes apparent to everyone. 

The best exercises are those taken in the spirit 
of play. If we go at it systematically economize 
and plan our time, even those of us who are the busi¬ 
est can devote a few minutes every day to exercise. 
Practice walking, maintaining an erect posture, head 
erect and shoulders thrown back. Everyone should 
walk at least a mile a day. We should make it a 
practice while walking in the open air to breath deep¬ 
ly—at least one hundred times every day. Often at 
night before retiring I step out into the free, fresh 
air and go through a few brief breathing exercises. 
I find the following very beneficial. 

Standing erect, with the shoulders thrown well 
back, extend the arms by the sides, slowly lifting 
them until they come together at the top of the head, 
and at the same time elevating the body slightly on 
the toes, and inhaling slowly through the nostrils, 
keeping the mouth closed. Maintain this position for 


EXERCISE 


135 


a few seconds and slowly lower the hands with arms 
kept straight until they are again hanging at the sides, 
at the same time exhaling all of the air possible from 
the lungs. Repeat this five or ten times then repeat¬ 
ing a similar exercise only raising the arms straight 
in front of the body until they are in a perpendicular 
position, inhaling while raising the arms, and then 
lowering the hands to the sides, slowly exhaling all 
the air possible from the lungs. The third exercise 
is similar to the first described, only the arms are ex¬ 
tended horizontally straight in front of the body and 
as you draw them back to the chest slowly inhale and 
as you extend them in front again, slowly exhale. 
This should also be repeated five to ten times. 

Another excellent exercise is to stand erect, 
swinging both arms as far to the right as is possible 
and then to the left, repeating five to ten times, and 
then stooping forward until the fingers touch the 
floor. Still another exercise is to lie flat on the floor 
or a matress, face down, feet and arms extended in 
a line with the body, raising yourself upon the hands 
and feet slowly from the floor. Repeat this exercise. 
Another one is to lie on the back and lift the legs to 
a perpendicular position which brings the muscles of 
the abdomen into play. The turning of somersaults 
on pillows or a matress is also an excellent practice, 
as it increases the circulation in the spleen and liver, 


136 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

and the other large organs of the body. The changing 
of the center of gravity of the body assists in the func¬ 
tioning of the vital organs. 

Five to ten minutes devoted morning and night to 
calisthenics and various free hand movements, includ¬ 
ing dumb-bells, weights, Indian clubs and deep breath¬ 
ing exercises, are very beneficial. Playing golf, hill 
climbing, tennis, baseball, handball and working in the 
garden are all very healthful and are highly recom¬ 
mended for healthy daily exercises. 

I think I can receive the greatest benefit in the 
shortest time by chopping wood for about 15 or 20 
minutes every morning. Immediately after supper I 
nearly always walk leisurely for about half mile or 
more, work in my garden or perform some other mild 
exercise. A leisurely walk or some moderate exercise 
immediately after eating, is, I find, a great aid to di¬ 
gestion. 

Don’t eat a very hearty meal late at night just 
before retiring, without any exercise. This throws 
an excessive amount of work on your stomach and 
digestive organs, and seriously interferes with diges¬ 
tion, assimilation, and elimination of waste that night. 
The evening meal, which should be eaten three of four 
hours before retiring, is practically well digested by 
then and is ready for absorption into the system so 
that the entire energy of the body can be devoted to 


EXERCISE 


137 


building up and repairing the wear and tear of the 
day and eliminating the waste. 

Thou shalt earn thy bread, by the sweat of thy 
browT is another divine injunction, which aids diges¬ 
tion, circulation, and eliminates waste. 

Many people may be very much surprised to learn 
how the blood is distributed throughout the body. I 
always supposed that the main part of the blood was 
in the heart, blood vessels and lungs, but the following 
table which has been taken from a scientific source, 
will disabuse our mind of this condition. It shows 
that less than one-fourth of the blood is in the heart, 
blood vessels and lungs. There is more blood in the 
resting muscles than there is in the blood vessels and 
still more in the liver and the portal circulation. 

I append this following table for your careful 
consideration as it is one of the most powerful argu¬ 
ments showing the absolute necessity of proper exer¬ 
cise for without exercise, their stagnation in the portal 
circulation and in the deep muscles and other parts of 
the body, which means impaired health, because of lack 
of nutrition to these parts and still more important the 
carrying away of the waste of the body. 

Quantity of blood in the body 1-13 of weight, 


distributed as follows: 

Spleen,. 0.23% 

Brain and spinal cord,. 1.24% 




138 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

' y/ 

Kidneys,. 1.63% 

Skin,. 2.10% 

Intestines,. 6.30% 

Bones,. 8.24% 

Heart, lungs, blood vessels,. .22.76% 

Resting muscles,.29.20% 

Liver,.29.30% 












CHAPTER XVII. 

COMMON DISEASES: FLU, TYPHOID FEVER, 
TUBERCULOSIS, PNEUMONIA 

WISH to discuss a few of the great dangers that 
lie in the path of the human race. I have des¬ 
cribed quite extensively the subject of food, beverages, 
elimination, exercise and mental condition. 

Now, I wish to discuss some of the special ene¬ 
mies that are ever ready to attack and destioy us. 
First, I will mention the danger of accidents. I have 
already discussed accidents under the head of "auto¬ 
mobile,” the enormous number that are killed and 
injured, also the injury that comes in many other 
ways. The older we get, the more danger there is 
of falling and breaking bones, or injuring ourselves 
severely. 

I have known quite a number of people well 
along in years who were enjoying excellent health, 
but by accidental falling, some bones were broken, 
shortening their lives. The bones of the limbs, es¬ 
pecially of the thigh, are the most liable to break and 
cause the most serious consequences. 


140 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

My mother, at the age of sixty-five, fell—a dizzy 
spell causing the fall—breaking the upper portion of 
the thigh bone. We finally succeeded in getting a 
union and she lived to be ninety-one years old; but 
she was in bed with a weight on her foot for over 
six months. She was more fortunate than many 
others I have known, an accident of this kind fre¬ 
quently causes death in a few months after injury 
of this kind. 

I have known of many cases of injury, causing 
broken bones, when people would get up at night 
without a room properly lighted, or conveniently ar¬ 
ranged for lighting. A flashlight und^r the pillow 
is quite a protection to an aged person. 

I have already discussed the danger of eating, 
and especially of meat and heavy proteins as we get 
older. I would also especially warn against the use 
of candy or rich cakes and pastry and the drinking of 
coffee. 

As we get older, our exercise should be lessened, 
and should not be quite so strenuous as when yte are 
young. But never make the mistake of stopping ex¬ 
ercise entirely. A certain amount of exercise which 
is short of causing fatigue is an absolute necessity to 
a long and healthy life. 

The drinking of plenty of water must be kept 
up. As the organs of the human body begin to les- 


COMMON DISEASES 


141 


sen their activities, the danger is an accumulation of 
waste, ashes and toxins in the system which will surely 
cause our destruction. 

I would also warn against the dangers of colds 
that might be neglected. I would advise a fever 
thermometer should be kept in every family. A rise 
of temperature, when any appreciable amount, al¬ 
ways means danger; but if taken in time, can often 
be easily overcome and the patient restored to a nor¬ 
mal condition. The temperature of the human body 
cannot vary but a few degrees without causing death. 

If we have a fever that carries the temperature 
about one hundred seven or up to one hundred eight 
and remains at this high point for any length of time, 
it is almost sure to cause changes in the blood and 
death will soon follow. On the other hand, if we 
have a sudden change and the temperature drops to 
ninety-five or six, we are very liable to die in a sink¬ 
ing chill without being restored to a normal condi¬ 
tion. Hence, this little fluctuation of say—twelve or 
thirteen degrees is all the human body can stand, and 
yet the temperature in which we live can change one 
hundred twenty-five or thirty degrees. Therefore, 
we should exercise care in the proper clothing and 
protecting the body against these severe and exces¬ 
sive changes, and also of eating the proper food to 


142 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

maintain every organ up to the highest state of effici¬ 
ency. 

If a person feels slightly indisposed, a few sim¬ 
ple home remedies might be applied, and restore him 
to health, but if there is much rise of temperature, 
especially following a pronounced chill, always call 
your family physician immediately. 

Right here, I wish to relate an experience of 
my wife and myself during the great epidemic of 
“flu” which swept our Country in the Fall of 1918. 

We had been enjoying our usual health. One 
evening, when I returned from my office, I noticed 
my wife’s face was slightly flushed. I asked her if 
she was sick. She said, no, she did not feel very 
sick, but she felt a little feverish. 

After supper, I took her temperature and found 
it was 103°: By this time, only a couple of hours 
after I returned, she began to feel the bad effects of 
the "flu.” I had her retire immediately, called our 
family physician and soon had some of her acute 
symptons relieved. 

By this time, I began to feel that something was 
wrong in my own case. I took my temperature and 
found it was 120° and I began to feel badly from the 
effects of the "flu” poison. 

Knowing the great value of a thorough sweat 
in breaking up many diseases in the initial stage, I 


COMMON DISEASES 


143 


went out into the kitchen, started up a good fire in 
the range and soon had the room very hot. I took 
a hot water foot bath and I kept adding the hot water 
until it reached quite a high temperature. One can 
thus increase the heat of a foot bath without caus- 
ing pain, as the hot water is added slowly. At the 
same time I drank a bowl of hot lemonade; the juice 
of a lemon with very little sugar in it, and soon be¬ 
gan to perspire very freely. I kept this up for nearly 
a half hour until I began to feel a little faint. Then 
I rubbed down the surface of my body with towels, 
put on dry clothing and retired. 

The next day, I was able to be around. I did 
not feel very well, but I was able to take care of my¬ 
self and wife. At that time, it was utterly impos¬ 
sible to get a nurse or help of any kind. The “flu” 
epidemic was so severe and so general, that thous¬ 
ands of people were sick. In many cases, whole 
families, were taken down and unable to care for 
themselves at all. 

My wife remained in bed for over a week and 
had considerable high temperature most of the time 
despite the very best medical treatment; but then the 
acute symptoms began to subside and after this she 
made a rapid recovery with no bad effects following 
her attack. 


144 HOW TO LIVE A. HUNDRED YEARS 

During this time, I ate some food through 
force of habit, but did not have much appetite, and 
the food I ate seemed to taste like chips. The food 
was alright and normal, but the trouble was my 
whole system was poisoned with the “flu” germ so 
that none of the organs could function properly. 

At that time I developed a severe cough. My 
lungs have always been first class; but these disease 
germs had attacked them and my cough was severe and 
persistent. After a day or two with the best of 
medical treatment, I began to raise a dark, sticky, 
tenancious phlegm. After a time, the lungs and 
bronchial tubes were relieved of this poisonous germ 
and I began to grow better. 

But my case was a revelation to me, and that is 
why I am describing it to my reader. I watched 
each step of the development of this disease and I 
could then understand why the strong and healthy 
people, and many of our robust soldier boys, laid down 
their lives from the attack of this deadly enemy which 
is usually followed by pneumonia. 

I am quite certain that if I had not taken this 
thorough sweat and the other treatment in connec¬ 
tion afterwards, I would certainly have had pneu¬ 
monia and probably a fatal result. 

I am now going to discuss a wonderful dis¬ 
covery that was made last winter at the Rockefeller 


COMMON DISEASES 


145 


Institute of Medical Research in which they have 
finally discovered the cause and isolation of the in¬ 
fluenza germ. 

Hopes of thousands of sufferers from the epidem¬ 
ic of influenza, for the prevention, or discovery of a 
cure, have been raised by the announcement of the dis¬ 
covery of the cause and isolation of the “flu” germ. 
The announcement was made by Simon W. Flexner, 
Director of the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Re¬ 
search, who attributes the discovery to Dr. Peter 
Kolitsky and Dr. Frederick T. Gates, all of the In¬ 
stitute. 

This isolation will permit experimentation with 
antidotes and antitoxins. So small is the germ that 
it must be magnified a thousand times before it can 
be seen distinctly under a microscope. The germ 
lodges in the nose and throat during the first thirty- 
six hours of influenza infection; then attacks the 
lungs is such a way as to make them susceptible to 
other germs in the nose and throat. 

In describing the terms of the discovery, Dr. 
Flexner says the effects are of two general classes. 
First, after the effect on the blood and alteration of the 
lelative number of red and white blood cells, the 
destruction of one variety of the latter, that is destroy¬ 
ing a part of the white blood cells which are well pro¬ 
tected, is accomplished. 


146 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

“The second kind of effects from the germ caus¬ 
ing influenza is far more significant and consists of 
mild injury to the substance of the lung, recogniz¬ 
able under the microscope.” This new bacterium 
found thus far only in cases of epidemic infection in 
the early hours of the discovery, is so small that it 
can pass through the pores of an earthenware filter 
and when magnified a thousand times is just capable 
of being seen distinctly under the microscope. It 
has been given the name “bacterium pneumosintees,” 
which, when translated into simple English, means 
that this germ enters the lung tissue in such 
a way as to produce these serious inflammations to 
which the names of bronchitis and pneumonia are ap¬ 
plied. In health these common bacteria are easily 
destroyed by the lung tissue, but as a result induced 
by bacterium pneumosintees, they now are enabled to 
lodge and multiply in the lungs, thus producing the 
scourage of inflammation to which the names of bron¬ 
chitis and pneumonia are applied. 

Dr. Flexner says the bacillus has never been 
found in healthy persons nor in those sick with other 
diseases. When it is injected into the windpipe of 
rabbits, it produces effects similar to those seen in 
humary beings in the various stages of the disease. 

After discussing more at length this subject of 
“flu” from my own experience I cannot impress 


COMMON DISEASES 


147 


upon my reader too forcibly the great danger of 
grip and “flu.” It is not so much the danger at 
the time of the attack, but the fearful result that 
often follows this disease . 

It is often, very often, the forerunner of pneu¬ 
monia and it often causes that terrible scourage tuber¬ 
culosis. I have known many cases where it has 
affected the kidneys, followed by serious chronic dis¬ 
eases. In some cases, it attacks the brain, with 
serious results. I would suggest a thorough sweat, 
plenty of hot lemonade, followed by going to bed 
and staying there until fully recovered, and calling 
your family physician early in the attack. 

In the pores of the average person, we have 
nearly five miles of little tubes which carry the waste 
out of the body. If we want to live to be old and 
healthy, we must be sure to keep these pores well 
open. We have cases on record where the surface of 
a person was painted with varnish, or paint, so that all 
the pores were closed up entirely, and they could not 
live but a very short time. The action of the skin 
is very similar to the kidneys and when the skin does 
not function properly, far more work is thrown up¬ 
on the kidneys. If the skin is kept in normal condi¬ 
tion by proper bathing and rubbing with a coarse 
towel, we are not as liable to catch cold. 


148 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

I Have discussed a few of the enemies or dangers 
that beset us as we get older. Now, I am going to 
mention three great diseases that stand out promin¬ 
ently which are the main causes of death in adult 
life. 

First is typhoid fever. Typhoid fever is usually 
acquired from drinking impure water or eating food 
infected with the typhoid germ. A wonderful typhoid 
antiserum is now being used very successfully. In 
the army and navy in a report of the Surgeon Gen¬ 
eral of the United States Army, we learned that in a 
hundred thousands cases, antityphoid serum was used 
but one very mild case of typhoid occurred. This is 
a marvellous result. This serum consists of actual 
typhoid germs which have been boiled and killed and 
to which is added a few proper antiseptic medicines. 
When this is injected in the human system, it arouses 
what is called the antibodies or all our powers of re¬ 
sistance kept on guard against this enemy. When 
this germ enters the blood, they are immediately 
seized by the white corpuscles of the blood and ab¬ 
sorbed and destroyed. It causes such an increase 
in the number of the white corpuscles and their ac¬ 
tivities that for two years after the injection, there 
is very little danger of the person contracting typhoid 
fever. A great prevention of typhoid fever is to 
boil the water that you are sure is not free from in- 


COMMON DISEASES 


149 


fection. This destroys the germs and makes them 
harmless. Then a little care in selecting the food 
that is not exposed to flies or infection is a very good 
protection against typhoid fever. 

To persons who are traveling over the country 
a considerable part of the time and are compelled to 
drink water at different places, it is well as a precau¬ 
tion for these people to have typhoid antiserum in¬ 
jected into their systems every two years. 

The next most dangerous enemy is tuberculosis 
or, as it is often called, “The Great White Plague,” 
which reaps a tremendous harvest of human lives 
every year all over the world. The best protection 
against this disease that I can recommend is to keep 
the body in a high state of efficiency, keep the blood 
pure and well supplied with all the elements for fight¬ 
ing the disease and to nourish the body in every part; 
care in treating slight colds, avoiding exposure, wet 
feet, sitting in cold rooms and as far as possible 
avoid public meetings in which there is a great con¬ 
gestion of people and the room is poorly ventilated; 
crowded street cars and other forms of locomotion. 
The best treatment for tuberculosis is, as I have stated, 
avoid contracting it. 

If once contracted, the best treatment is as fol¬ 
lows: Complete rest, plenty of pure, fresh air and 
a generous diet of wholesome food. Some medicine 


150 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

may be used as tissue builders. The glycero phos¬ 
phates of lime and soda is especially good; prepar¬ 
ations of cod liver oil and phosphates of lime and 
soda and some other medicines are also aids in cur¬ 
ing this disease, but the main hope is to help nature 
to restore you to health. And right here, let me im¬ 
press upon my reader that in this disease all doctors 
agree that there must be the best nourishment given 
of food which will increase vitamines and mineral 
salts. 

Why is it not a wise thing to use these precau¬ 
tions while we are well and to teach our young people 
that in the selection of their foods, they choose those 
building up a body resistance that will be the sure 
and best protection to them from tuberculosis? 

A high dry atmosphere is also an aid in the treat¬ 
ment of tuberculosis. Tuscon, Arizona with an ele¬ 
vation of 3000 feet is an excellent location for tuber¬ 
culosis patients. There are many other places in 
Arizona and New Mexico which are also suited to 
cure this dreadful disease. In New Mexico, the 
government has a tuberculosis sanitarium for mem¬ 
bers of the navy who may require this treatment. 
Many physicians, or those who have passed through 
the dissecting room, are surprised to find a number of 
people who have ben affected with tuberculosis and 


COMMON DISEASES 


151 


finally recovered from it, and who have finally died 
from some other disease. 

The leading symptoms of tuberculosis are cough, 
rise of temperature, emaciation and weakness. Tu¬ 
berculosis usually follows an attack of severe cold or 
the grip, “flu,” pleurisy or pneumonia. Great im¬ 
provement has been made in the treatment of tuber¬ 
culosis, by isolating the patient so as to avoid spreading 
the disease, and by supplying plenty of fresh air, 
nourishing diet and rest. 

In addition to the foregoing remedies for tuber¬ 
culosis, a new way of using electricity is a very im¬ 
portant agent in curing this dreadful disease. It is 
only within the last two or three years that electricity 
has accomplished so much in the treatment of tubercu¬ 
losis. 

During the past summer I had occasion to watch 
a very serious case of tuberculosis treated with this 
new alpine sun light and the results were most surpris¬ 
ing and encouraging to me. This treatment is so im¬ 
portant that a statement of how to use electricity, by 
those who are thoroughly versed in its use, follows 
herewith. This form of electricity is not only for the 
treatment of tuberculosis, but for a number of other 
diseases. I would ask my reader to examine this 
report from Dr. Wm. B. Welch, of Joliet, Ill., very 
carefully, as I am satisfied it is very important, as he 


152 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

has spent considerable time in the study and use of 
electricity. 

“Kor nearly half a million years man has enjoyed 
the beneficial effects of sunlight. That is the length 
of time scientists now estimate the earth to have been 
inhabited by man, and through all this vast period of 
time the effects of sunlight have been essential to the 
sustaining ofi life and the curing of disease. 

“The ultra-violet rays of the sun possess marked 
chemical properties and are used successfully in the 
treatment of many conditions, and it has been defi¬ 
nitely proven that it improves nutrition of the body 
and the immunizing power of the blood stream. They 
aid in the development of the Antibodies and bacteria 
in the system are destroyed. 

“Unfortunately the sun does not always shine. 
And the ultra-violet rays are absorbed to a very great 
extent by the atmosphere. But with the advent of 
the artificial quartz alpine sun light we are provided 
with a means of treatment in all kinds of weather. 

“The class of cases that are especially benefited 
by the light treatments are Tuberculosis, Anaemia, 
Skin diseases, Neuritis, Rheumatism and conditions 
resulting in general malnutrition and debility. 

“The generally accepted technique for using the 
light treatment is to remove all clothing and apply 
the Deep Therapy light (which is a 1500 Watt elec- 


COMMON DISEASES 


153 


trie lamp in a reflecting hood) over the entire body 
until it has reddened the skin by bringing the blood 
to the surface, where it can be easily impregnated with 
the ultra-violet rays from the Alpine Sun light, and 
then carried to all parts of the body by the blood 
stream. 

“Electricity can also be used to good advantage 
in the treatment of Pneumonia, Arthritis and many 
other maladies by passing a high frequency or heat 
producing current through the affected area and there¬ 
by bringing more blood to the diseased area, discour¬ 
aging infection and encouraging the healing process.” 

And here again, I wish to call my reader’s atten¬ 
tion to the great necessity of diet, as I read works of 
our greatest men who now acknowledge the great 
importance of a scientific balanced ration of proper 
foods. I wish right here to make a short quotation 
in regard to guarding health. Probably no matter 
is of more vital concern to the individual man or 
woman than the preservation of health. Yet it is a 
matter to which, as health statistics will show, the 
average person gives little attention. The common 
assumption appears to be that health tends to main¬ 
tain itself, that the body will go on functioning in 
a “natural” manner until attacked by disease or some 
kind of serious breakdown comes. 


154 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

But the body is a piece of mechanism, more del¬ 
icate in many of its parts than the finest kind of 
machines. It is geared to do so much and no more; 
and the limit of endurance or first-class running ca¬ 
pacity varies with the individual. Often when warn¬ 
ings of trouble begin to come they are ignored. It 
is as if one expected a watch or motor car to run in¬ 
definitely without examination or overhauling. 

The necessity of regular attention to one’s phys¬ 
ical condition, and the fact that the individual must 
rely upon himself to bring about that attention, were 
emphasized recently by Dr. Haven Emerson, Profes¬ 
sor of Public Health Administration at Columbia Uni¬ 
versity : 

“The health department may protect your water 
supply, it may prevent contamination of the milk you 
consume and try to keep you from having smallpox, 
measles and scarlet fever; but most of the sickness 
which ends in an untimely death cannot be prevented by 
the health department.” 

Prevention of only about 20 per cent or one-fifth 
of human ills is within the sscope of public health 
authorities, according to the medical department of 
the Rockefeller Foundation. The remaining four- 
fifths the individual himself must guard against or 
attempt to prevent. The field for action here consists 
not simply of observance of the ordinary “rules” of 


COMMON DISEASES 


155 


health in respect to eating, sleeping, regular exercise, 
fresh air and hygiene; it calls for a connection of the 
individual with a responsible authority on the impor¬ 
tant matter of health. 

“To prevent the major part of all your sickness,” 
says Dr. Emerson, “you should go to your family 
physician at least once a year for a careful, thoro 
medical examination.” Few individuals apply this sim¬ 
ple rule in the case of the most vital matter that 
concerns them; and yet do not hesitate to apply it in 
such comparatively minor matters as the examination 
and repair of a watch or motor car. 

PNEUMONIA 

Treacherous pneumonia, the most deadly of all 
diseases, is taking a heavier toll every year. It has 
been likened, to a fierce Apache Indian, always lurking 
in dark places, ready to pounce upon, a victim and lay 
him low with a swift, sure stroke. The attack is swift, 
the encounter fierce, and the departure of the enemy, 
if it fails to slay, equally abrupt. 

Great progress has been made in the prevention 
and treatment of pneumonia, and yet some things are 
a mystery that have baffled the scientific world for ages. 
Pneumonia usually takes one of two forms, when it 
attacks the bronchial tubes usually of children or 
weak people, and the lobes by far the more deadly 


156 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

which affect all classes, but especially the robust. 

Usually pneumonia follows a severe cold, grip or 
“flu.” It can also follow great exposure, and is es¬ 
pecially dangerous after one has become very much 
fatigued after a great exertion, and has been perspir¬ 
ing very freely, and suddenly this perspiration is stop¬ 
ped and all this waste is immediately thrown into the 
blood and the other emunctories and carried through 
the system. 

It often follows the giving of an anaesthetic like 
sulphuric ether; and yet we see it suddenly attack 
people without any previous apparent causes to bring 
it on. 

It usually attacks one lung. The lower lobe of 
one lung is a favorite site for starting, spreading to 
the other lobes and often extending to both lungs. 
Then it becomes especially serious and we have the 
dreaded double pneumonia, which in older people, is 
very liable to end fatally. 

By far the most frequent cause of pneumonia is 
pneumo-coccus, an exceedingly small germ which is 
not always equally virulent, and with some persons, 
not virulent at all. In fact, though the germ is pro¬ 
bably present in the throat of more than half the peo¬ 
ple living in cities, by no means all of them get pneu¬ 
monia. They may be carriers who may carry the 
germs to those more susceptible, although they, them- 


COMMON DISEASES 


157 


selves, remain immune. Indeed, if all who become 
temporary carriers of pneumococcus, were to con¬ 
tract pneumonia, the disease would become a more 
dreadful scourge than all the plagues of Pharaoh, be¬ 
cause of its high death toll. Of those who get the 
disease, about one-quarter die. 

A patient may be feeling slightly under the 
weather. For several days he feels chilly and lan¬ 
guid, and these discomforts continue for a day or two 
without being acute enough to send for a doctor. 
Then all at once, follows the pronounced chill with 
pain in the side of the chest, by a continual stabbing 
which keeps rythm to the respiration. A short, 
sharp cough adds to his torture and at last they send 
for a doctor. 

By this time, the patient has a high fever and 
racing pulse. The respiration is much more rapid 
than the fever warrants, because the breathing is sharp, 
caused by the racking stabs in the side. Several 
days before this pronounced chill and severe attack, 
these germs have been harbored in the air passages for 
a longer or shorter interval. During this time, the 
pneumocci, little plants, reproduce their kind in bil¬ 
lions, creating poisons which absorb into the system 
through the circulation. At the same time, the body 
has been busy with more war preparations. 


158 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


The first thing the doctor wants to know is the 
blood count and to find out the relative number of red 
and white corpuscles of the leucocytes which may 
have been increased to two, or as many as twenty times 
the number present in health. A high count indicates 
a better chance for recovery than is denoted by a* 
small one. 

This pleurisy is what causes the stabbing pafn 
at every breath. Soon follows the exudate, or sticky 
discharge which soon will fill all the air cells and shut 
off the breathing space of the affected lobe, throwing 
the whole burden of respiration upon the unaffected 
areas. This decrease of available air space accounts 
in part for the more rapid breathing. 

In a few hours this exudate changes to red hep- 
itization which is soon followed by white hepitization 
and the lobes of the lung become solid. If the spread¬ 
ing of this disease is not checked, the lungs soon fill 
up and death follows very rapidly. Most fatal cases 
are within three or seven days after the system is 
stricken with this terrible disease. 

At this stage of the disease the heart is bearing 
an enormous overload. By force of its contractions 
it must send blood to every part of the body with suf¬ 
ficient force to insure a constant circulation of the 
stream. An obstruction anywhere greatly increases 
this pumping work and the pressure of the exudate 


COMMON DISEASES 


159 


causes such obstruction pver a large area. Also 
the heart muscles may be affected by the poisons of 
the blood, and finally because of the high fever the 
organ must beat faster. It is not to be wondered that 
the great majority of fatal cases are directly due to 
heart failure. 

By far the surest and best treatment of pneu-> 
monia, and this also applies to tuberculosis and many 
other diseases, is to continually observe the great laws 
of health, keeping the body in a, high state of efficien¬ 
cy. When we follow these great laws faithfully in 
the way of food, exercise and elimination of waste, 
as we find them described in this book, and keep a 
generous supply of pure blood in circulation, it is by 
far the surest protection against pneumonia. The 
danger of the attack of pneumonia is very small if we 
would follow these great laws faithfully. Proper 
ventilation of our homes, and especially our sleeping 
apartments is very essential. Avoid, as far as pos¬ 
sible, exposing the body to great chills, or changes of 
temperature. Avoid excessive use of foods, select 
only those which are nourishing and the waste from 
which can be easily eliminated from the body, keeping 
up a reasonable amount of exercise and be very careful 
to have the regular amount of sleep and rest. It is 
an excellent plan, especially in the winter and cold 
weather, on leaving churches, halls or any form of 


160 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

entertainment, in which there is a large gathering of 
people, to blow the nose thoroughly several times and 
still better after returning home to use a nasal spray 
or dousch with glyco-thymoline, borasic acid or any 
good antiseptic, for we must remember that infection 
of these dangerous kinds of flu, pneumonia and other 
similar diseases is usually through the nostrils, and 
they lodge right on the little cillia of the sniderial mem¬ 
brane and there is a period of twelve to thirty-six 
hours of incubation. If we can rid ourselves of these 
enemies at this stage of their development, we may 
escape any further injury from them. 

The precautions are suggested, especially during 
the time when flu, grip or pneumonia are very preva¬ 
lent. 

Upon the slightest indication or symptoms of an 
attack, or better still, when we are feeling indisposed, 
is the surest time to protect ourselves from these dis¬ 
eases. Very often in early stages, a good, hot bath, 
or even a hot foot bath, with generous bowl of hot 
lemonade at the time of retiring, followed with a ca¬ 
thartic, will aid the body in ridding itself of these 
various diseases. But if, on the next day, we are not 
nearly restored to our normal health, and feel that we 
have some fever and are greatly depressed, the surest 
and best way is to order the family physician, go to bed 
and stay there, until such time as the temperature of 


COMMON DISEASES 


161 


the body is normal, and you feel back to your usual 
healthy condition. 

Serums are often given in this disease as a pre¬ 
vention, although some authorities do not advocate 
their use. As we study these great enemies of man¬ 
kind, that annually reap hundreds of thousands of 
victims, the force of my previous suggestions and the 
laws and rules of health I have been striving to lay 
down in this book become more apparent and impor¬ 
tant. Remember that bacteria and germs swarm ev¬ 
erywhere in the air; but if we keep the body up to a 
high state of health and efficiency and keep all the 
organs of the body performing their functions pro¬ 
perly, we may have little dread of any of these diseases, 
because nature will guard and protect us from the 
attack of all our enemies. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE SKIN, KIDNEYS AND LIVER 


TTTE will consider these two organs together as 
* * their functions are so similar, even their in¬ 
timate structure is so very similar. Both eliminate 
a considerable quantity of water, and both remove from 
the blood, acid and salime substances and various poi¬ 
sons. The hygienic rules of good health are quite 
similar and may apply to both these organs. If one 
will take care to maintain a thorough, healthy skin, 
he will be likely to have healthy kidneys also. Their 
work is similar. If we neglect the care of either of 
them so that they cannot function properly, so much 
more work is thrown upon the other organ. 

If the entire skin of a person is painted with 
varnish that completely seals up all these pores, there 
have been cases in which serious consequences follow 
and if this varnish is not removed, death is very likely 
to follow soon after. Few realize how necessary it 
is to have the kidneys in a normal condition; for if 
they become diseased and fail to function for even a 
few hours, coma soon sets in, which is quickly fol¬ 
lowed by death. They perform a wonderful function 


THE SKIN, KIDNEYS AND LIVER 163 

in eliminating moisture, water, toxins and poisons from 
the blood. These little filters are very small but each 
kidney is estimated to be composed of one-half to a 
million filters microscopic in size. If we eat proper 
foods in right amounts,, and live according to the laws 
of good health, these kidneys are provided with power 
and endurance to carry a person through an ordinary 
life and still perform their functions properly. But 
when we violate the proper diet and eat excessive quan¬ 
tities of meat and other protein foods, the great amount 
of work thrown upon the kidneys to eliminate this sur¬ 
plus amount of protein which cannot be maintained in 
the human system beyond the amount required for its 
immediate use. Then we have arterio schlelerosis, or 
hardened arteries, high blood pressure and Bright’s 
disease, a disease that is increasing and claiming 
thousands and thousands of victims. Nearly all this 
is accompanied by heart trouble as the increased work 
of the hardened arteries and the blood seriously in¬ 
terferes with this action and soon the muscles of the 
heart give away and we have heart disease in some 
of its forms. 

Another great cause of the diseases of the kid¬ 
neys is the eating of excessive amounts of cane sugar 
which the glands pancreas cannot protect us from, and 
then diabetes appears, a very serious condition. When 
thoroughly established, the patient may never see a 


164 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

real well day again. These two are the principal 
diseases of the kidneys. Other faults of eating con¬ 
diments, spices, pepper and excessive amounts of salt, 
also throw extra work on the kidneys. 

When we fail to keep the skin in good, healthy 
condition, then the work of the kidneys is increased 
so much more. And let me add right here, that if 
we would always keep the skin in a good, healthy con¬ 
dition, the danger of colds would be almost entirely 
removed. 

The eating of far too much food, too generous a 
diet, also increases the work of the kidneys. The 
drinking of coffee, tea and alcoholic drinks also is in¬ 
jurious to the kidneys. If we wish to have healthy 
kidneys and live to a healthy old age, we should there¬ 
fore be very careful in avoiding an excessive amount 
of meat and other protein foods, also excessive 
amounts of sugar, avoiding condiments, spices, ex¬ 
cessive amounts of salt and vinegar, and try always to 
keep the skin in a good, healthy, normal condition. 
To keep the skin in a healthy condition, we should not 
wear too heavy or tightly woven underclothing. The 
underclothing should be thin and woven loosely so 
that the air can reach the surface of the body; but 
when riding, especially in chilly or cold weather, then 
great precaution must be taken to protect the body, 
with wraps, from sudden chills. 


THE SKIN, KIDNEYS AND LIVER 165 

Frequent bathing is very necessary and beneficial. 
Many advocate the daily bath, which is an excellent 
plan in very hot weather when perspiring freely. In 
colder weather, two or three times a week is usually 
sufficient, but the surface of the skin should be rubbed 
with a coarse towel every night and morning, when 
it is not convenient to take a bath. This keeps up a 
healthy circulation of the skin and a stimulant to the 
nerves with which it is so abundantly supplied. 

Many advocate a cold bath in the morning which 
acts as a tonic. They claim a quick cold bath, not 
over a minute or two, followed by a rubbing of the 
body with a coarse towel, is very beneficial, and I 
know that many people find it such. Personally, I 
prefer to take a bath just before retiring, a cleansing 
bath, which must always be warmer than the average 
body temperature. At the close of the bath, I usu¬ 
ally take a little cold water in my hand or on a wash 
cloth and then go over the surface of my body, and 
rub down with a coarse, crash towel. I always 
prefer taking a bath in a warm room. A bath 
at this time of the day seems to do me more good, the 
danger of taking cold is almost entirely removed and 
it has an excellent effect on the nervous system induc¬ 
ing sound sleep and rest afterwards. When not con¬ 
venient to take an entire bath, I take a foot bath just 
before retiring and I find it very beneficial. 


166 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

The skin is remarkably adapted for our protec¬ 
tion. It prevents the entrance of bacteria and many 
other forms of disease. This protection is more 
forcibly brought to our attention when we have a cut 
or injury that makes an opening through the skin, 
through which bacteria or germs of some kind may get 
into the blood. We often see serious results follow 
this infection. The outer surface of the skin is made 
up of several layers of hony scales which form a 
protective layer which is a poor conductor of heat and 
electricity, but affords a considerable degree of re¬ 
sistance to bites of insects and cuts and injuries. Be¬ 
neath this layer is found the active portion of the skin, 
the gland nerves and blood vessels by which are per¬ 
formed the various functions that are carried on by 
this remarkable organ. 

The sweat glands are the principal glands which 
are very essential, not only to carry out the waste and 
poisons of the system, but by their action to cool off 
the surface of the body during very hot weather. 
The remarkable functioning of the nerves and blood 
vessels that are supplied to the skin is all carried on 
automatically by the subconscious mind and are work¬ 
ing for our benefit day and night, and all we have to 
do is follow a few general laws of good health and na¬ 
ture takes care of the rest. If perspiring very freely, 
in the summer and we should go into a cellar, the 


THE SKIN, KIDNEYS AND LIVER 167 

cool air feels delightful to us, but it is very unhealthy 
to stay there any length of time. The sudden stop¬ 
page of all of this waste of the body, throws a great 
amount of work upon the kidneys and bowels. After 
great exertion, or becoming very warm, or perspir¬ 
ing freely, a tepid bath, followed by a thorough rub¬ 
bing of the skin is an excellent way to escape trouble 
or danger of colds. If this is not practicable; walking 
gently or moving around some so as to cool off grad¬ 
ually, is a good plan; or if riding, an extra wrap should 
be used immediately. In fact, it is not a good plan, 
when perspiring freely, to take a ride in an automo¬ 
bile or any open vehicle. 

It is surprising as to the extent of the walls of 
these tubes, the sweat glands, for they would cover 
a surface of ten or eleven thousand square feet. The 
average person has about five (5) miles of these 
sweat glands, which should be kept in excellent con¬ 
dition. It is an excellent plan at night to remove all 
underclothing worn during the day and hang it up 
where it can be thoroughly aired and dried and the 
same to be applied to the clothing worn at night in 
the morning, to allow these to hang and air during the 
day. 

Remember a thorough rubbing of the skin with 
a coarse, crash towel, as we make these changes, is 
also very healthy and beneficial. 


168 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

There is an old and trite saying, “A man is no 
older than his arteries.” Many people who apparent¬ 
ly are in the best of health, are very much surprised 
when taking a thorough physical examination to find 
they have high blood pressure. This is one of the 
first symptoms that appear to warn us that we are 
not living right. We are in some way outraging 
nature s laws. Remember the Lord gave us but one 
beverage and that is Water. Drink freely of it. It 
is necessary to good health. It will help to wash the 
poisons and toxins out of the system and help to flush 
the kidneys of the poisons in their constant efforts to 
protect us from disease. 


LIVER 

The liver is a very wonderful organ and its pro¬ 
per action is absolutely vital if we hope to maintain 
good health. Under the head of “Digestion,” I have 
spoken more fully of the offices of the liver and its 
secretions and excretions, the wonderful work it does. 

I just wish to add a few words here in regard to 
the diseases of the liver and the care of the liver. The 
liver is not near as subject to disease as the kidneys; 
and we will have very little disease from the action of 
the liver if we only observe the right diet. 

The liver cannot handle cane sugar as well 
as grape sugar and the sugars made from starches. 


THE SKIN, KIDNEYS AND LIVER 


169 


Hence, much of the liver trouble of today can be traced 
to the eating of excessive amounts of cane sugar and 
other improper foods which seriously interfere with 
its functions, causing gallstones, an obstruction of the 
gall duct which often requires a serious surgical ope¬ 
ration. The drinking of alcohol in some of its forms 
seriously injures the liver. When one persists in 
eating foods that seriously interfere with the normal 
action and functions of the liver and kidneys, it always 
brings on serious injury to the one who transgresses 
these great laws of diet. 


CHAPTER XIX. 


THE PANCREAS AND INSULIN, THE NEW 
TREATMENT FOR DIABETES 

T HE pancreas is another very important organ. I 
have described quite fully the office of the pan¬ 
creas and the external secretions of the pancreas which 
are poured into the intestines and are very necessary 
in completing the digestion of food in giving what is 
sometimes termed as a once over again action, aiding 
the work of the saliva, gastric juice and bile. 

Besides this external secretion of this very impor¬ 
tant organ, pancreas, it has recently been discovered 
that it has an internal secretion which has been termed 
insulin, a name derived from the Latin word “Insula,” 
meaning island. This substance has been given this 
name because it is produced in that part of the pan¬ 
creas called the Islands of Langerhans, after the dis¬ 
coverer. Diabetes mellitus is a disease of the pancreas. 
It results when the Islands of Langerhans do not 
produce sufficient insulin to protect us from cane sugar. 
Wrong diet is the main cause that prevents the proper 
functioning of this gland. 


THE NEW TREATMENT FOR DIABETES 171 

It has recently been discovered that when this 
internal secretion can be taken from some animal, 
usually a sheep, and injected into the blood of a diabe¬ 
tic patient, diabetes is counteracted for the time being. 
It is indeed a wonderful treatment for this dreaded 
disease, but it is not a cure, since the cause of diabetes 
has not been removed. 

Dr. William S. McCann, of Johns Hopkins Med¬ 
ical School, says, “The most that can be said for in¬ 
sulin is that it is a specific remedy for diabetes which 
restores the metabolism to normal as long as the treat¬ 
ment is continued. In some cases, the beneficial ef¬ 
fects may continue for a short period after discontin¬ 
uing the treatment but sooner or later, the patient 
always returns to the condition, preceding the treat¬ 
ment, unless it is resumed.” 

This secretion, insulin, was discovered by Doc¬ 
tors Banting and Best, working in the Laboratory of 
Dr. Macleod, of the University of Toronto, who suc¬ 
ceeded in isolating it from the pancreas of the ox. 

Since the discovery of insulin, a little over a year 
ago, much progress has been made in the physical study 
of its preparation. First, some exaggerated statements 
were made of its value as a remedy for this disease, 
claiming it was an absolute cure, but this, we find is 
incorrect. It is a good remedy and assists as long 
as it is given to the patient. It has no effect if taken 


172 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

into the stomach. It must be injected directly into 
the blood in order to obtain any of the benefits of 
insulin. 

When diabetes mellitus attacks young people, the 
results are very grave indeed, because the hopes of re¬ 
covery are very slight. When it attacks older peo¬ 
ple, the advance of the disease can be checked by care¬ 
ful diet and living. They may live after its attack, 
for a number of years, but when a young person has a 
severe attack of diabetes mellitus, they have little 
chance of ever seeing a well day afterwards. 

I wish to quote right here from an eminent au¬ 
thority, the following: “The ultimate end of one 
who has had excessive doses of sweets, candies, cakes, 
rich pastries, syrup, etc., for a continued length of 
time, wears out the function of the gland pancreas 
which enables the body to take care of sugars. Not 
only in limited amounts for long periods, but no su¬ 
gar can be taken at all. This complication is an or¬ 
ganic disease, called diabetes mellitus. This disease 
weakens the body strength, to such an extent, one can 
never see a well day afterwards.” 

My reader may recall that under the head of 
“Cane Sugar,” I quoted an eminent doctor of New 
York City, who claims that the number of people 
afflicted with diabetes mellitus has been doubled in 
the last five years, since the prohibition amendment 


THE NEW TREATMENT FOR DIABETES 175 

came into force. Formerly, there were about a mil¬ 
lion people in the United States afflicted with diabetes, 
and now he claims this number has been doubled, or 
two million people, who are sick with this disease, 
and; he claims it is due, largely, to the enormous in¬ 
crease in the consumption of cane sugar which is a 
quick stimulant and quite similar to alcohol in its 
effect. 

I trust my reader can now see the reason I have 
condemned in strong terms, the excessive use of cane 
sugar by the American people. When we study this 
subject from all angles, gathering the opinions from 
the greatest men in the country, can there be any doubt 
in my reader’s mind of the injury by the excessive use 
of cane sugar? 

All doctors agree that when diabetes mellitus at¬ 
tacks a young person, it is still more dangerous than 
when older people contract this disease. 

I not only wish to call my reader’s attention to 
the enormous increase of diabetes but I wish to warn 
them of the hundreds of thousands of children whose 
health is being undermined by the excessive use of cane 
sugar. Many times the ill-effects of cane sugar are 
not apparent, but serious injury is being done to the 
pancreas and the kidneys, slowly but surely injuring 
the functions of these two important organs. 


174 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

The small candy stores have sprung up all around 
our large schools to tempt the small children to buy 
sweets of all kinds, just as we formerly used to see 
saloons located near the gates of great manufactur¬ 
ing plants. Teachers in some of these schools have told 
me they have noted the serious injury to the pupils 
who eat much candy while attending school, and some 
of these teachers have made rules prohibiting the chil¬ 
dren to go to these candy stores during school hours, 
but of course, the authority of the teacher ends with the 
school hours, and then the pupils will find means to 
buy this candy before or after school. If parents and 
teachers will but substitute and teach their children 
to buy raisins and fruit instead of candy, it would be 
so much better for their general health. 

When insulin is used as a remedy, a strict diet is 
as necessary as ever in this disease. I would impress 

my reader’s attention with this serious thought,_We 

came into this world with one stomach, one liver, one 
pancreas, one heart, two kidneys and every one of these 
vital organs are absolutely essential to our very exis- 
tense. If anyone partially gives out, our health is 
seriously impaired and do not forget this sentence: 
When one of the body’s organs has become more or 
less destroyed, it is not an easy problem to rebuild it” 
“A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.” Our 
future life is seriously impaired , our length of days 


THE NEW TREATMENT FOR DIABETES 175 

is greatly reduced and our service to our friends and 
family and community is almost entirely removed. 
The amount of pain the human body can cause us, is 
scarcely appreciated or thought of, by those who en¬ 
joy good health. Good health is something like our 
friends, we do not miss them until we lose them. 

If we have some particular friend who we can 
see frequently and often,, we think little about it, but 
if this friend dies or goes away, what wouldn’t we 
give if we only had an opportunity to visit with them 
again, even for a short time. Permit me to again 
repeat that diet is one. of the most important things of 
life. Dietetic sins bring on diabetes, bright’s disease 
and heart disease, cancer and many other diseases and 
it is one of the leading causes that help to shorten and 
makd life more or less of a failure. Is it not of suffi¬ 
cient importance to give it our personal attention and 
be free from all these diseases and to build up a strong, 
rich blood circulation that will protect us from nearly 
all forms of contagious diseases. 

It is this piinciple that has impelled and spurred 
me on to write this book, and I wish to call the atten¬ 
tion of my reader especially to the advantages of it, 
especially for our boys and girls. Let them get start¬ 
ed right before there is serious injury to the pancreas, 
to the kidneys, to the heart or to some other vital or¬ 
gan, which may not show up for a number of years 


176 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

afterwards, but the foundation is certainly laid for a 
break-down later in life, when the heavy work and 
competition of life comes upon us and the struggle 
for existence and bread becomes harder and harder 
as it certainly will in the years to come. 


CHAPTER XX. 

THE AUTOMOBILE 


' ■'HE enormous increase in the number and in the 
use of the automobiles by the American people 
forces itself upon our attention, and makes it neces¬ 
sary in a work of this kind to point out some of the 
many advantages and delights in its use and also to 
call attention to the danger and abuse of this much 
used vehicle. Its use and abuse has a powerful bear¬ 
ing upon our health and length of life, and this im¬ 
pels me to speak briefly upon the subject. When we 
realize that there is in this country one automobile 
for every two families, and in California one for every 
family, we cannot help but appreciate the vital influ¬ 
ence that the automobile industry must have upon 
each and every one of our lives. 

Few people stop to think of the economic side 
of the automobile. The American people are spending 
eight billion dollars annually upon automobiles. The 
depreciation upon automobiles is almost two billion 
dollars per year; this money practically wasted. It 
is driving the interurban and street car out of busi¬ 
ness. It is stopping the building of new railroads. 


178 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


The expenditure of money for railroad building or 
extensions has been practically at a standstill for a 
number of years, although the population and business 
activity of the country has not at all decreased. 
Where is this money coming from? What would 
this eight billion dollars have been spent for had it 
not been spent for automobiles? This, with appar¬ 
ently a very slight change in the mode and habits of 
living of the people, and we may assume from this 
that it is due to the increase in wages since the war, 
and to the general elevation of the standard of living. 

To many the most serious side of the economic 
consideration of the automobile lies in this fact. The 
greater part of this money is spent for pleasure alone 
and does not bring any substantial or lasting benefits. 
The pleasure of owning and using a car is so attract¬ 
ive that it is difficult to withstand the temptation to 
pui chase one, even though the prospective buyer be in 
very poor circumstances. Some of our best author¬ 
ities claim that at least half of the cars sold are pur¬ 
chased by people who can ill afford to own and stand 
the upkeep of an automobile. A large number pur¬ 
chase automobiles before they have homes, others 
mortgage their homes to buy automobiles, and still 
others purchase automobiles who are still owing a con¬ 
siderable portion on their homes, and the owning and 
upkeep of an automobile seriously interferes with and 


THE AUTOMOBILE 


179 


retards the day when they may own a home free from 
indebtedness. 

The use of the automobile has quite an, important 
influence on the health and length of life. If used 
judiciously when the' weather is pleasant, it is very en¬ 
joyable and healthful, but if used recklessly, driving 
long distances in chilly weather, it is a serious handi¬ 
cap and endangers health. 

While we have mentioned just a few of the ser¬ 
ious objections to the automobile we must also speak 
of its many advantages. It has become an absolute 
necessity to the physician, in that it permits him to 
reach the very sick and injured in an incredibly short 
space of time. It enables people to visit many places 
of interest and gives them delightful sight-seeing trips 
and the like, which might otherwise be denied them, 
and as our roads and highways are being improved 
very rapidly, it enables more and more people to visit 
far distant parts of our country, traveling from sea to 
sea and from Canada to the Gulf. I believe that the 
time is not far distant when more and more people 
will will use the automobile to go South and the war¬ 
mer climates in Winter, and to go North in the Sum¬ 
mer, somewhat as the birds instinctively take their 
flight in accordance with the change of the seasons. 

The question comes up, “When will we reach the 
point of saturation?” Time alone can tell. Since 


180 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

1917 auto experts and authorities have been looking 
forward to, and setting a time when this point of sat¬ 
uration would come, but still in 1923 it seems as far 
distant as it did in 1917, keeping ahead of us, as it 
were, like a shadow in front of us. While discussing 
this subject I can not refrain from sounding a note 
of warning in regard to the dangers and the number of 
automobile accidents, which are increasing at an 
alarming rate. Statistics indicate that in the year 1923 
the number of deaths by automobiles will exceed 
15,000, which averages a death every fifty minutes; 
and those injured in these or other automobile acci¬ 
dents, it is stated by insurance companies, will exceed 
one million seven hundred thousand, almost 2% of 
our population. The above figures are in large part 
to be listed as a toll that the nation pays to careless¬ 
ness on the part of motorists and pedestrians, for most 
automobile accidents are avoidable. The great ma¬ 
jority of them are attributable to speeding, to careless 
driving, to joy riding, to intoxication while at the 
steering wheel, to failure to exercise proper care as 
to brakes and safety appliances, to lack of care on the 
part of pedestrians and to many other causes, most 
of which are directly attributable to carelessness in 
some form. The above figures should drive home 
to all who use the public thoroughfares and highways 
the need of exercising proper care. To this enormous 


THE AUTOMOBILE 


181 


list of those killed and injured must be odded the terri¬ 
ble loss suffered by the families of those killed and 
the pain, the anguish, and the loss sustained by the 
injured, and there id also the loss of property that is 
to be figured. One killed in automobile accidents 
every fifty minutes, two hurt every minute, that is the 
present rate. Let motorists and pedestrians think of 
these figures and realize the terrific cost of careless¬ 
ness. 

The automobile presents to us a very grave men¬ 
ace in not taking the proper amount of exercise. One 
author has treated the subject like this: “What is the 
cause of the increase of avoirdupois among our bus¬ 
iness men?” The answer is, “Ambitious jaws, lazy 
feet, and gasoline.” Let me give you an example of 
many business and professional men. They arise 
rather late in the morning, hastily eat their breakfast, 
consisting perhaps of coffee and rich foods, light a ci¬ 
gar or cigarette, step into their automobile and rush 
to their office or place of business. At noon they 
again step into their car, rush home, probably eating 
a hearty dinner with more meat and richer foods than 
are really good for them, again step into their car and 
go back to their place of business, and this is again 
repeated in the evening. Apparently, a man going 
through this routine is looking fine, in fact, he is get¬ 
ting too fleshy, but in reality he is stacking up a lot 


182 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

of trouble. He takes practically no exercise, he is 
eating far too much food, too rich food,and too great 
a variety of food, and he is smoking too much tobacco. 
Just watch this case for a few years, and something 
is going to happen to this man. High blood pressure, 
heart trouble and many other diseases are liable to 
attack him, at any time. He is throwing too much 
work upon the heart, it is impossible for the emunc- 
tories to rid the body of the excessive waste and an 
early breakdown and premature old age are inevitable. 

Let me warn people of this class that they should 
take some exercise every day if they wish to remain 
in a good state of health and be free from pain and 
disease. Often my friends ask me if I have an auto¬ 
mobile or if it is in running order and I answer, saying, 
“Yes, I have an automobile and keep it in excellent con¬ 
dition, but I feel so much better when I exercise that 
I make it a habit of walking, usually three or four miles 
a day.” Every business man should walk at least 
two miles a day or take some other form of exercise 
daily. 

To my mind the sedan or closed car is the com¬ 
ing car. We all know that it is unhealthy to place 
ourselves in a position where any one part of the body 
is subjected to a direct or constant draft. When any 
part of the body is subjected to a direct draft the blood 
in this part of the body thickens or coagulates, circu- 


THE AUTOMOBILE 


183 


lation is impaired, congestion takes place and the re¬ 
sult is a cold, rheumatism, neuralgia, or other petty 
ills which are the result of congestion. Yet, we have 
exactly the same result when riding in an open car, 
and it is intensified when moving rapidly. People are 
beginning to learn this, and it is for this reason that 
the popularity of the closed car has increased so rapid¬ 
ly in the past few years, over 50% being sedans in 
many leading types of cars. 

The American people today are living too fast. 
They are under too high pressure all the time. The 
fierce competition of business, the social whirl, the 
late hours, the luxury and dissipation that come with 
the accumulation of wealth, and the immoral movies, 
added to the use of the automobile, are carrying many 
of our young people into moral ruin. They go too 
fast. They scarcely take time for their meals or for 
sleep, but rush from one thing to another under this 
high nervous tension, and then they step into their 
automobiles, and the forty or fifty miles an hour, only 
adds to these disturbing influences. 

Few of our young men today, who are the sons 
of business or professional men, have the moral stam¬ 
ina, good habits and a good constitution to carry on the 
business of their fathers, and many of our young wo¬ 
men are not as capable of taking charge of a house and 


184 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

making an ideal home as their mothers were, which is 
the very foundation of our Great Republic. 

There is a time to work and a time to play. I 
write this note of warning to parents, so that they may 
try and instill in their children the necessity of right 
habits of thought, and due observance of the laws of 
health. 

Too much ease and luxury debilitates, destroys 
and breaks us down. We need more of the pioneer 
spirit of our fathers and mothers, who had to meet 
and overcome all kinds of difficulties, and in this way 
develop a good, sturdy character. 


CHAPTER XXI. 

MOUTH HYGIENE 


| ^R. HARVEY WYLIE claims the mouth is the 
most important organ of the human body. In 
fact, most authorities agree that much of our infection 
is taken into the human system through the mouth and 
nose. The importance of mouth hygiene has been 
greatly emphasized during the last few years as our 
greatest men begin to realize that the condition of the 
mouth has a powerful influence upon the health of the 
individual. 

A great deal could be written upon this subject; 
in fact, whole volumes almost, are devoted to it; but 
I wish to give some of the main important points that 
are necessary to be observed: First, the teeth should 
be cleansed thoroughly three times a day, after meals. 
By far the most important time to clean the teeth is 
after supper, some time before retiring. The teeth 
should be thoroughly brushed at night before retiring 
for if any particles of food are left around the teeth 
during the night while the mouth is at rest for eight 
or nine hours, fermentation will take place as the 
mouth is in a warm, moist condition all of which are 
favorable conditions of fermentation. While during 


L4b HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

the day if a little particle is left around the tooth, it 
is often removed by the lips or tongue, or by drinking 
something, or by eating more food; while at night 
these particles remain in the same position. Hence, 
I always impress on my patients the necessity of a 
thorough cleansing of the teeth at night before retir¬ 
ing. They should also be cleaned after breakfast and 
dinner. 

Occasionally, I have patients who brush their 
teeth too long and too vigorously, and irritate their 
gums, and cause them to recede, especially over the 
upper cuspids and bi-cuspids. Cleanliness is the only 
object of brushing the teeth and any brushing after 
this end is reached, is a waste of time, and irritates 
the gums and we must remember we should keep the 
gums in a healthy condition. The teeth should be 
brushed up and down and at right angles to the teeth, 
being careful not to irritate the gums, especially when 
brushing up and down. 

I like to have the expert who takes an X-Ray, 
give his written opinion of each tooth that appears 
diseased. This is an aid to us in deciding on the right 
course to recommend, as we examine the patient’s 
mouth. 

The X-Ray is only a shadow picture, and let me 
warn my reader, here is where many grave mistakes 
are made and many useful teeth sacrificed. 


MOUTH HYGIENE 


187 


There is very little chance of making a mistake 
in a typical abcess, as the portion around the end of 
the root is so dark and well defined. But in those 
cases where there is a very slight change of color 
around the end of the root in the tooth, is where the 
danger of making a mistake lies. 

A tooth may have been treated, and in a perfectly 
healthy condition, but if it shows a slight change of 
color, due to its former condition, some physicians 
are so radical they recommend the removal of all dead 
teeth; but this is wrong. I have been practicing den¬ 
tistry for many years and have had an opportunity to 
study this subject and watch the teeth I have treated, 
and had many X-Rays made of them, and with very 
rare exceptions, I have found the teeth and roots in 
a healthy and normal condition. 

While I try to be conservative and not sacrifice 
healthy, useful teeth, I am one of the first to recom¬ 
mend the removal of badly abcessed teeth, especially 
of long standing; and also all diseased conditions of 
the gums, pyorrhea and all other forms of inflamma¬ 
tion that may have extended to the point of suppera- 
tion, for all such teeth should be removed. I have 
seen many cases where, after this class of teeth have 
been removed, there would be a marked improvement 
in the patient's health in a few weeks afterwards, and 
later on, when the gums had settled down, and I have 


188 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

fitted them with plates so they could masticate their 
food properly, I see a still greater improvement in my 
patient’s health. 

A few years ago, we did not fully realize the im¬ 
portance of mouth hygiene and of watching and cor¬ 
recting these conditions in the mouth of our patients. 
Now we have learned that these diseased teeth are 
very often a source of slow infection which gradually 
but surely impair our patient’s health. 

We should visit our dentist at least twice a year 
and have the teeth thoroughly cleaned and all the tar¬ 
tar removed, and a careful examination made to see if 
there are any signs of decay. If there is any decay 
that is started, in this way the dentist will discover for 
us and we can have the teeth filled while the cavities 
are small, and this is the condition in which all den¬ 
tists prefer to do their dental work. If teeth are 
filled when the cavities are small, the work can be done 
with less pain to the patient and the danger of a nerve 
dying, because of close proximity to a large filling is 
entirely removed. 

If at any time the patient’s health seems to be 
impaired and no apparent reason can be found, then 
it is an excellent plan to have an X-Ray taken of the 
teeth, especially if the patient has any teeth that have 
been devitalized and the roots filled. This devitali¬ 
zation and filling of roots of teeth is a very difficult 


MOUTH HYGIENE 


189’ 


part of dentistry. Perhaps not over half of the den¬ 
tists are capable of doing this work successfully. If 
this work is not done quite perfectly, there may not 
be any pain to the patient or discomfort of any kind, 
but if all th enerve is not removed after the treatment 
and the root is not filled to the end of the apical for¬ 
amen there is sure to be trouble with this treatment 
and a blind abcess is likely to form. The easiest and 
best way to disclose this is by having an X-Ray taken. 
The X-Ray is a wonderful help to the physician and 
the surgeon, but like many other wonderful discov¬ 
eries, sometimes some physicians go too far in its use 
and are too radical in its application. Some physi¬ 
cians will order a patient to have all of his teeth ex¬ 
tracted because of some slight ailment, the cause of 
which he is not able to discover in his patient, as 
rheumatism, neuritis and many other diseases. So 
some of the dentists have to act as a barrier to pre¬ 
venting the wholesale extraction of sound and useful 
teeth that are in no way to blame for the patient’s 
illness. 

I will simply describe a case I recently had in my 
office. A man of about thirty-five years of age came 
to me to have me make two plates for him. I asked 
him the reason he had lost all of his teeth at his age, 
and his answer was that he was working in Chicago, 
and had an attack of rheumatism. He went to a 


190 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


physician who looked him over and said his teeth were 
the cause of all his trouble. He had neglected his 
teeth some and there was quite an accumulation of 
tartar, but otherwise his teeth were in a healthy con¬ 
dition with possibly one or two exceptions. The pa¬ 
tient thought it was necessary to follow this physician’s 
advice, so he visited a dentist and had all of his teeth 
removed; but he still had his rheumatism. He visited 
another physician who inquired into his habits of life, 
and his diet, and discovered he was eating too freely 
of meat and rich pastries. He told him how to correct 
his diet and live on plain, wholesome food, with very 
small amounts of meat He gave him a diuretic, 
accetate potassium, to slightly stimulate the kidneys 
and carry the urea and uric acid out of his system, and 
in a very short time, his rheumatism was gone, but 
the poor man s teeth were also gone. 

I merely mention this case as a warning, and when 
a patient comes with these troubles, it might be well 
to first look into the other causes of these diseases, and 
then if the trouble still remains, after proper medical 
treatment, to have an X-Ray taken and find if there 
are perhaps two or three blind abcesses with pus at 
the end of roots of the teeth which make a slow form 
of infection which is drained into the system. 

In brushing teeth, it is well to use tepid water and 
some good toothpaste. There are quite a number of 


MOUTH HYGIENE 


191 


varieties of tooth paste upon the market today. As 
usually manufactured, the tooth paste and tooth pow¬ 
der are quite similar in composition only put up in 
different form; but the tooth paste is a little more 
convenient to use because it does not soil the clothing 
as easily as the powder does. 

Ten or fifteen years ago, we had quite a number 
of good prepaiations of tooth powder. Since that 
time many new varieties of tooth paste and tooth pow¬ 
der have been placed on the market. Many of them 
are very highly advertised and recommended. The 
varieties of paste and powder used a number of years 
ago were very good but not quite strong enough. 
Those that have been placed on the market in very 
recent years, I consider too strong for use in the mouth. 
I have had a number of patients complain of the ir¬ 
ritating effects of these modern tooth pastes on the 
gums, and I do not consider it advisable to use these 
strong preparations. 

I get the best results from the use of Sanitol 
tooth paste, as I think it keeps my mouth and teeth, 
and also many of my patients’ teeth, in most excellent 
condition. 

There are many good preparations that can be 
used as a mouth wash. Lavoris is a very popular pre¬ 
paration and a very good one to use as a mouth wash. 
A ten per cent solution of glyco-thvmoline diluted with 


192 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


warm water makes an excellent mouth wash. There 
are many other preparations that are also considered 
very good as a mouth wash. 


We should thoroughly masticate all of our food, 
not alone for the reason that it is necessary in order to 
start digestion properly and have the food thoroughly 
mixed with saliva, but it also aids us in keeping the 
teeth clean and in a healthy condition. Like the other 
parts of the body, the teeth should be used regularly 
for it helps us keep them in a normal, healthy con¬ 
dition. We are all prone to use only one side of the 
mouth in masticating the principal part of our food. 
This is not a good habit. We should practice using 
both sides of the mouth, and in this way, keep all our 
teeth and gums in a healthy condition and at the same 
time divide the work up equally with all the teeth in the 
mouth. 


It is not a good plan to chew gum very freely or 
long at a time. It causes an excessive flow of saliva 
which is liable to be taken into the stomach at times 
when it is not needed and may also slightly interfere 
with the digestion. It also over-stimulates the sa¬ 
liva glands. 

I sometimes chew a piece of Beeman’s Pepsin Gum 
for five or ten minutes after dinner, or after supper, 
( and then discard it somewhere in a place no one can 
step on it and inconvenience them.) If W e chew gum 


MOUTH HYGIENE 


193 


for a few minutes right after a meal, it will cause an 
increase in the flow of the salivary ducts at a time 
when it will slightly aid digestion in the stomach, es¬ 
pecially if we haven’t taken quite as much time as we 
should in masticating our food. 

In about ten or twenty minutes after we start 
eating a meal, the gastric juice begins to be secreted in 
the stomach and before this secretion becomes suffi¬ 
ciently abundant, the extra saliva may help in the di¬ 
gestion; but when there is a considerable secretion of 
gastric juice and the stomach becomes strongly acid, 
this stops all the starch digestion performed by the 
saliva. 

The importance of mouth hygiene is coming in¬ 
to its own, and its real value is acknowledged by all 
our best authorities. The services of the dentist is 
very important in keeping up the health of a communi¬ 
ty, but I think by far the greatest service we can give, 
is to the children and young people. 

A child’s first teeth should be looked after at 
least twice a year. If small cavities should appear, 
they can be filled and these teeth retained in the mouth, 
to not only be of service to the child, which is impor¬ 
tant, but a still greater service is given to that child 
later in life. Those who have studied deeply into 
this subject find that if the first teeth are retained un¬ 
til the- proper time of the eruption of the second teeth, 


194 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

the second set of teeth comes in far more regular, so 
that the articulation and the masticating power of the 
person is almost doubled during the remainder of his 
life. While if the first teeth are extracted too soon, 
as it is often necessary to do to relieve pain, the next 
teeth come in very irregular and in a crowded position, 
and the upper and lower teeth do not properly come 
together so as to produce the best grinding and masti¬ 
cating power, which is of great service to the child 
from the ages of six to fifteen years. And during this 
time the permanent teeth are all erupted, with the ex¬ 
ception of the four wisdom teeth, which are irregular 
in coming, usually from twenty to thirty years of age 
and are not near as valuable as the other twenty- 
eight ^teeth are. 

Many people do not realize that the permanent 
teeth appear in a child’s mouth at about six years of 
age before losing any of his first teeth. There are 
two lower six years molars and two upper six year 
molars, and these come in right behind the first teeth, 
which are only ten in each jaw. 

Here again we see a wise provision of our Cre¬ 
ator in having these six year molars erupted just 
back of the first teeth. The two lower six year 
molars meet in perfect occlusion with the two up¬ 
per six year molars and act like four posts to hold 
the child’s jaw in place and give him masticating 


MOUTH HYGIENE 


195 


power while he is losing the balance of his first teeth. 
These six year molars coming so early in life are 
more liable to decay than those which come later, 
but I think that of all the teeth in the head, the six 
year molars are probably the most important for 
masticating purposes. There are weak spots in these 
six year molars like all molars, where the fissures 
are on the surface; sometimes the union of the enamel 
not being perfect, this little depression forms a lodg¬ 
ing place for the accumulation of food, and decay is 
very liable to start at this point. If the child is care¬ 
fully watched by his dentist and taken to his office 
at least twice, and in some instances three times a 
year, if these weak spots begin to show signs of de¬ 
cay, they are very easily filled with very little pain 
and the balance of the tooth will often last a life¬ 
time. 

As the child grows older, the teeth become hard¬ 
er like the bones of the body, especially if he is fed 
upon the proper food that is rich in calcium and 
other mineral salts. 

Right here let me impress on my reader, that this 
point will show the importance of proper diet and liv¬ 
ing. Then if this child visits the dentist twice a year 
for the next ten or fifteen years and has his teeth care¬ 
fully cleaned, and if there are any small cavities to 
have them filled, and he will brush his teeth morning 


196 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

and night and after each meal, he need have but 
very little decay and rest assured that he will pre¬ 
serve his teeth as long as he lives. By following the 
above directions, a person need never have any tooth 
ache; and, my reader, please remember this one fact, 
when decay starts, is is never stopped until the tooth 
is either filled or extracted. 

By taking good care of your teeth, you not only 
protect them from decay, but also from attacks of 
pyorrhea which come later in life and which is usual¬ 
ly due to the neglect of the teeth, allowing the tarter 
to gather in considerable quantities. This acts as an 
irritant to the gums which shrink back and more tar¬ 
tar is deposited, and this process is kept up until 
there is so much inflammation that often pus pockets 
are formed and the patient is on the high road to 
pyorrhea and loss of his teeth. 

I have already mentioned the great service we 
can be to a community, especially to children and 
young people, and I wish to impress on my reader, 
the supreme importance of taking their children reg¬ 
ularly to a competent dentist and beginning quite 
young. 

The six year molars are the first permanent 
teeth and are very liable to decay, but the early and 
frequent visit to the dentist with the child can pre¬ 
vent the loss of these important teeth. Few realize 


MOUTH HYGIENE 


197 


what a loss it is to a patient to sacrifice one of these 
teeth. Knowing the value of these teeth, I would 
not take a Hundred Dollars apiece for these impor¬ 
tant teeth. 

If a young person loses one of these six year 
molars, they practically lose the use of the six year 
molar that meets it, and also suffer not only the loss 
of the use of these two teeth, but that side of the jaw 
is never in first class condition to masticate food 
properly. The loss of this tooth leaves a space which 
allows the food to drop down and irritate the gum 
and greatly curtails the masticating power of this 
side of the mouth. To masticate the food thorough¬ 
ly, there should be four or five teeth that meet in per¬ 
fect occlusion arranged side by side. This gives so 
much more continued service for masticating power 
which grinds up the food much more perfectly. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

CLOSING SURVEY 

JN this closing chapter or survey of the subject, I 
wish to ask my fair-minded and impartial reader 
if I haven’t shown that it is a practical thing to carry 
out the subject of my book, “How to Live a Hundred 
Years.” 

I have given a number of remarkable examples 
of people who have not only lived a hundred years, 
but many of whom have lived much beyond a hun¬ 
dred years; and one who indeed reached one hundred 
and sixty-nine years of age. Then if I trace this 
thought through the next few chapters of my book, 
my reader will see how I have divided the subject 
under serveral headings, making in all twenty-two 
chapters. 

I have spoken of the food, most important of 
the entire subject. I have also spoken of the other 
great requirements for living a long and healthy life. 

I have described the food, the beverages, the exer¬ 
cise, and the necessity of keeping in a proper mental 
condition. I have also spoken at length about elimin¬ 
ation, how absolutely necessary it is to keep the ashes 


CLOSING SURVEY 


199 


and waste promptly removed from the system. I 
have spoken of the necessity of sleep, and through¬ 
out the book, I have emphasized the importance of 
leading a temperate life, in describing the lives of 
these old people. This one subject has been dwelt 
upon by all of them: to avoid all excesses, all irregu¬ 
larities, to lead a temperate life, and to avoid upsett- 
ting or interfering with the harmony of the work¬ 
ings of the human body. 

Remember my quotation from Dr. William 
Mayo, one of the greatest men in the medical world 
today, who recently stated that but one-fourth of the 
operations of the human body is under the direct 
control of our will. The other three-fourths is car¬ 
ried on by this subconscious mind, and when the hu¬ 
man will tries to seriously interfere with the oper¬ 
ation of the other three-fourths of the authority of 
the body, trouble is sure to arise. Then towards the 
latter part of my book, I have warned of the dangers 
of accident, and especially falling, and have spoken 
at some length of the great and dangerous diseases 
that carry off so many hundreds of thousands of 
people each year. 

I have given a short description of these dis¬ 
eases and a few of the means of avoiding them and 
I have also dwelt on the necessity of early treatment 


200 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

of these diseases by calling the family physician at 
the first stage of the attack. 

I give below a list of the books and authors, 
from which I have gathered a part of the material 
for this book. Hoping it will be of interest to some 
of my readers to study more fully the details of this 
very interesting and important subject of health. I 
would add, they are all valuable and useful books, 
which are well worth your time to read and study. 
I would first mention, “Textbook of Physiology,” by 
Howell, 6th edition. This is a very fine Physiology 
of one thousand pages and is used by some of our 
best medical colleges. “Medical Chemistry and 
Toxicology” by James W. Holland, 4th edition. This 
is a very valuable technical work, but of little value 
to any but the trained investigator. 

“Not By Bread Alone,” by Dr. Harvey Wiley, 
is a very valuable book of 374 pages. This is a 
practical work, and I recommend it to all my readers. 
Dr. Wiley also published three small books, of 230 
pages each, entitled “Wiley’s Health Series,” Nutri¬ 
tion, Hygiene and Physiology, Volumes 1, 2 and 3. 
These are written in a plain, simple style, especially 
for young people. Another book of Dr. Wiley’s is 
called “100 Tests of Foods & Beverages,” which is 
useful as a reference book. 


CLOSING SURVEY 


201 


“Starving America” by Alfred W. McCann is a 
valuable book of 270 pages. It forcibly shows how 
the food of the American people is prosessed, demin¬ 
eralized, denatured and robbed of it’s most valuable 
and healthful qualities. “The Science of Eating” is 
another good book of 400 pages by Alfred McCann. 
These books are very valuable and should be read by 
all. “Old Age’Deferred,” a book of 480 pages, is 
written by Arnold Lorand, of Carlsbad, Austria. Dr. 
Lorand is also author of another book entitled 
“Health Through Rational Diet,” a book of 430 
pages. These books are very valuable, carefully writ¬ 
ten, showing a large field, the sources of his authority, 
and represent the thought of some of the most noted 
European authorities. “How to Live” by Irving 
Fisher and Eugene Lyman Fisk, a book of 440 pages, 
gathered from a wide number of authors, 15th 
edition. This book should be widely read. 

Dr. John H. Kellogg’s book, “Life” and also 
his “Good Health Magazine,” are very interesting 
and valuable books. Everyone should read them. 
“Maintaining Health” a book of 411 pages, by Dr. 
R. L. Alsaker, is an interesting, well written book, 
published in 1920. “Milk Diet” by Foster, describ¬ 
ed in detail how milk should be used, when needed for 
an exclusive diet, for a few weeks. “Diet & Health” 
with a key to the calories, by Lula Hunt Peters is a 


202 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

small book, which is considered a high authority on 
calories, and how to properly maintain a balanced 
ration. “Ten Little Lessons on Vitamines,” these ten 
small books of 32 pages each, by Eugene Christian, 
containing valuable information in regard to the vita- 
mines and mineral salts contained in many of our foods. 

In this chapter, I wish to gather a list of the 
things to do and also a list of things not to do, under 
the head of “What To Do” and “What Not To Do.” 
My object is this; we have many splendid books writt¬ 
en upon health subjects, but most of them are so 
long and profuse that many people get lost in a maze 
of health suggestions. Therefore, in the compass 
space of a few pages, I wish to write something that 
my reader can refer to and see at a glance, the impor¬ 
tant things that are necessary to maintain a high state 
of health. 

WHAT TO DO : 

1. Select a balanced ration. 

2. Select foods rich in vitamines and mineral 

salts. 

3. Drink plenty of water. 

4. Cultivate cheerfulness. 

5. Take plenty of exercise. 

6. Get seven or eight hours of sleep. 

7. Practice regularity of meals, exercise and 
retiring. 


CLOSING SURVEY 


203 


8. Be temperate in all things. 

9. Prompt daily removal of all waste and ashes 
of the system. 

10. Plenty of milk, vegetables, whole wheat 
bread, nuts and fruits. Also shredded wheat bis¬ 
cuit and Ry-Krisp Crackers. 

11. Massage thyroid gland daily. 

12. Live in the Open Air and Sunshine. 

13. Cultivate deep breathing. 

14. Daily bath or rubbing down with a coarse 
towel. 

15. Retire at 10:00 P. M., Arise at 6:00 A. M. 

16. Mental work prevents premature senility. 

17. Wear underclothing loose and porous. 
WHAT NOT TO DO : 

1. Don’t eat candy, rich pastries and cake. 

2. Don’t smoke. 

3. Don’t drink coffee, tea, ice water, and al¬ 
coholic drinks. 

4. Don’t eat too fast and too much. 

5. Don’t e&t heavy meals after 6:00 P. M. 

6. Don’t eat meat more than once a day. 

7. Don’t mix too many kinds of food at the 
same meal. 

8. Don’t worry. 

9. Avoid being pessimistic. 

10. Don’t lead a sedentary life and eat rich food. 


204 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

11. Don’t eat predigested food. 

12. Don’t eat spices and hot sauces. 

13. Avoid over-eating. 

14. Avoid all excitement. 

15. Don’t use any vinegar. 

16. Don’t be irregular with meals and retiring. 

17. Don’t eat bakers’ white bread. 

My main object in mind when I wrote the vita- 
mine table of foods, was that my reader can refer to 
this frequently, and in this way can make a far bet¬ 
ter selection of foods for daily use that are rich in 
vitamines and mineral salts and very essential to life. 
With the same thought in mind, in regard to the table 
of menus, I have drawn from different sources, 
which are of the highest authority, giving outlines 
for the use of people who are engaged in different 
kinds of work, or leading a life of leisure; and from 
them, you can formulate a system of menus in the 
selection of foods that are especially fitted for your 
own personal use and benefit. 

A few years ago we rarely heard much about the 
importance of vitamines and mineral salts in our food. 
But now we have learned of four vitamines, A, B, C 
and D, and know that they are an absolute necessity 
to our health and without them our bodies soon give 
way to the attacks of disease, premature old age and 
death. 


CLOSING SURVEY 


205 


Likewise, but a few years ago, many quite noted 
men thought the ductless glands were of little use to 
the human body, but now noted investigators have 
discovered that the ductless glands exert a powerful 
effect on all of the vital organs of the body. 

Again other noted investigators have discovered 
that the accumulation of toxins and poisons in the 
system are powerful factors in causing auto-intoxica- 
tion, disease, premature old age and death. 

If we would but use proper food, observe reg¬ 
ular laws of health, and the prompt removal of waste 
and ashes from the body, then we would have a good, 
rich blood current which would protect us against dis¬ 
ease and insure the proper functioning of the ductless 
glands, and all the organs of the body. 

The economic side of life is closely interwoven 
with our very existence, and forces itself on our 
daily attention. The wise use of money has much to 
do with our health, happiness or misery. The in¬ 
heritance of much wealth is not usually a benefit, but 
is rather a detriment to the average young man, for 
it often causes dissipation and a wrecked life. The 
majority of parents cannot bequeath much wealth to 
their children, for the wealthy class form but a small 
per cent, but they can leave their children something 
far more valuable than money, in the way of an edu¬ 
cation and help to mould a good character. 


206 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


I always feel so grateful to my parents for the 
inheritance they left me, not of money, for their cir¬ 
cumstances were very moderate, sufficient for their 
comforts of life by spending the last twenty years of 
it with me, but I feel so grateful for the education 
they gave to my brother and myself at considerable 
sacrifice to their own personal pleasure; as my father 
often remarked he would leave something to me that 
I could not lose or squander in some bad investment, 
to stay with me as long as I lived. 

But aside from this education, he left me other 
things that were fully as valuable. He taught me 
the importance of getting started in life properly, and 
the pride which we should always have in a clean, 
decent life, so as to retain the respect and good will 
of our friends and acquaintances, and besides this, 
he impressed on me the great fundamental principles 
of being of service. In doing this he had a number 
wise sayings. He was a great reader and had the 
power of remembering what he read and gathered 
from this extensive reading, he had considerable 
amount of wisdom that seemed to be boiled down. 

I will mention just a few that I recall as they 
may be of service to some boy or girl who is start¬ 
ing out in life. One of the first things I was taught 
was "All work is honorable.” Another was "All 
knowledge is useful.” He always wanted me to read 


CLOSING SURVEY 


207 


and study and gather all the knowledge and wisdom I 
could in this life. Another was in regard to the use 
of money. He said, “We should try to gain a com- 
petance to take care of us in sickness or old age, but 
not to gain money with the idea of a miser, not for 
money itself, but for what money would do. We 
should try and save a part of our income, if possible 
twenty-five per cent or more, investing it carefully 
for the time of need;” and his suggestions about the 
spending of money always seemed to me so wise. He 
said, “Do not be too niggardly and don’t be too extrav¬ 
agant. Buy the necessities and perhaps what luxuries 
you think you can afford, but, my son, please re¬ 
member this one thought, “It is a thousand times 
easier to spend money than it is to earn it.” 

And one other saying of his is, “No boy or girl 
zvill ever learn the value of a dollar until he earns it. 
They must learn that money does not grow on 
trees.” Parents can talk to their children indefin¬ 
itely about the value of money, but dear parent, I 
would suggest that you have your child go out and 
earn a few dollars and I think it will be of more 
value than long talks and advice on this subject. 

One of the most important events in our lives is 
when we get married. Some thoughtless young peo¬ 
ple look upon marriage very lightly and speak of it as 
kind of a lark, but this is a grave mistake. No two 


208 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

should ever get married until they are thoroughly ac¬ 
quainted with each other, know each other’s tempera¬ 
ments and know each other’s dispositions thoroughly, 
and each must be thoroughly convinced that he is 
willing to make any great personal sacrifice of his 
own wishes and habits of life for the sake of the one 
he is thinking of marrying. When these conditions 
are met and also the economic conditions in the fact 
that the man has saved up a little money to make a 
start in life and has an assured income that is am¬ 
ply able to provide for a wife, then all should marry, 
as it is the natural state in which we are intended to 
live. 

The discord and quarrels of married life are of¬ 
ten the cause of great unhappiness and also it seri¬ 
ously impairs the health of both the man and wife. 
And most of this discord can be avoided and should 
be stopped. If there are any children in the family, 
these quarrels are very poor examples to set before 
them. Of all the punishments I know of that seem 
to follow the disregard of proper laws, the punish¬ 
ment following immorality is the most drastic and 
severe as the Good Book tells us, “Visiting the ini¬ 
quity of the fathers upon the children unto the third 
and fourth generation.” 

Those who drift into an immoral life should re¬ 
member this divine warning. Any sexual excesses 


CLOSING SURVEY 


209 


alzvays carry with them, the most terrible results. 
Few realize what a tremendous power the sexual or¬ 
gans have upon our health and happiness and well¬ 
being. If they are used temperately and wisely, as 
the Lord intended for the propagation of the human 
race, nothing adds more to our health, strength and 
happiness. 

I would suggest to all fathers to talk to their 
sons when they are young, and mothers to talk to 
their daughters when they are young, telling them in 
plain language what it means to have a wise use of 
these organs which the Lord gave us and explain to 
them the terrible results of abuse or intemperate use 
of them. Self-abuse is helping to break down the 
health of many of our young people and helping to 
fill our insane asylums. Teach your children to use 
their will power and control their passions which 
were given them for a wise purpose and do not let 
their passions rule and ruin them. 

Those young people who drift into an immoral 
life do not begin to realize the terrible price they 
must pay from venereal disease, broken health and 
shattered nerves. One of the greatest safeguards for 
young people is active, wholesome, outdoor sports. 
Seek only the companions who are clean and decent. 
Avoid all lewd, suggestive reading and movies. Do 
not allow the mind to dwell upon immoral, obscene 


210 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

literature or thoughts, which only excite the imagin¬ 
ation and passions, and bring on a most dangerous, 
morbid mental condition. Mental thoughts along 
these dangerous lines, nearly always precede moral 
mistakes and the committing of terrible crimes. 

The alarming increase in Neuritis and Neural¬ 
gia impels me to speak briefly of these diseases, as 
they have a slow yet marked effect upon the health 
of the individual, and consequently upon the length of 
life. One author states their principal cause is the 
cry of the nerves for more, and purer blood. 

Neuritis is an inflammation of the nerves. The 
condition is attended by pain and tenderness over the 
nerves. Anesthesia, disturbances of sensation, Par¬ 
alysis wasting, etc. It may be caused by alcohol, 
diabetes, diphtheria and traumatic due to injury. But 
by far, the most common variety of Neuritis is call¬ 
ed adventitial, or that which affects the sheath of a 
nerve. 

The inflammation of this sheath, causes pres¬ 
sure on the nerve, accompanied by severe pain. 
Sometimes degeneration takes place in the nerve sub¬ 
stance. Neuralgia is quite similar to Neuritis, but 
without the inflammation in the nerve, the pain is in 
the nerve, or radiating along the course of a nerve, and 
may result from a great variety of mobid conditions. 


CLOSING SURVEY 


211 


The neuralgic pain is of a severe, darting or throb¬ 
bing character, and usually intermittant. 

Many varities of Neuralgia are distinguished ac¬ 
cording to the part affected, or to the cause, as bron¬ 
chial, facial, diabetic, malarial, and cardiac termed 
Angina, Pectoris, or neuralgia of the heart. 

A great many have discovered it is very diffi¬ 
cult to cure Neuritis with medicine. The cause and 
location of Neuritis makes it difficult to be acted up¬ 
on by medicine. Opiates can be given in severe 
cases, but these give only temporary relief, without 
any curative effect, and the steady use of opiates, is 
dangerous. By far, the simplest and best treatment 
for Neuritis, is the use of electricity. Wonderful 
improvements have been made in the last few years 
in the use of electricity, in the treatment of these dis¬ 
eases. My brother has spent considerable time in the 
study of electricity in recent years, and is using it 
more and more in his practice of medicine. 

lie tells me he is getting excellent results in the 
treatment of Neuritis by the use of the Sinusoidal 
current of galvanic electricity. 

I know of some physcians who are obtaining 
gfood results in this disease, with others forms of elec- 
tricity. 

Other physcians are giving relief to their pa¬ 
tients by hot applications, and hot baths and-massage 


212 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


treatments. While these diseases may be caused by 
a great variety of morbid conditions, the great out¬ 
standing fact remains, their principal cause is lack 
of a pure, rich blood current, and you cannot have this 
without proper food, proper exercise, and thorough 
elimination of waste. And in the final analysis the 
surest way to avoid these distressing diseases, is to 
follow the health suggestions found in this book, 
which is a key to a long and healthy life, free from 
pain. 

While walking on our streets, or at any large 
gathering of people, if we study closely the appear¬ 
ance of the people we meet, we would be surprised at 
the lack of health manifest by so many people, today. 
The pale, sallow complexion, frail bodies and lan¬ 
guid motion, show weakness, and that their health is 
below par. This applies with special importance to 
many of the children, today. But, if we would but 
note the food they are eating, and their habits of life, 
the cause could easily be seen. 

As we walk down our streets, we notice the num¬ 
ber of candy stores, with all sorts of candies display¬ 
ed in the most attractive form. Under the head of 
Carbohydrates, I have spoken at length of the evil 
effects of cane sugar, which is a thief, and robs the 
people of the precious calcium salts, which are so es¬ 
sential to a healthy life, especially valuable and neces- 


CLOSING SURVEY 


213 


sary to children to promote their growth, and the 
formation of bones and teeth. Cane sugar forms in¬ 
soluble compounds such as calcium-sucrate and cal¬ 
cium-carbonate, so the child’s greatest loss is cal¬ 
cium salts and the heat and energy from the cane 
sugar is the second loss, and the third loss is the work 
thrown on the excretory organs to get rid of these 
insoluble compounds. 

The manufacture and sale should be prohibited 
by law, of a considerable part of the candy on our 
market today. It is an abominable compound, 
composed largely of glucose, a small quantity of 
cheap cane sugar, some chemicals and unhealthy 
analine dyes. Many authorities claim it is doing 
more harm to the health of the American people to¬ 
day, than alcohol is .—Its greatest injury is to our 
children. 

After noticing the candy stores on our streets, 
next notice our grocery stores. The shelves are 
loaded with very attractive canned goods, of all de¬ 
scriptions—all kinds of jellies and marmalades. 

Notice the pickles; in the manufacture of which 
vinegar plays an important part. As we pass on 
down the street, note the display windows of our 
bakeries, filled with the most tempting display of 
cakes, cookies and pasteries, and even the rolls are 
sugar coated. These merchants are displaying the 


214 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

most popular foods, that are being purchased and con¬ 
sumed by the American people. 

These foods taken in excess, to the exclusion of 
good, plain food, are helping to break down the health 
of our people. 

Next step into our meat markets and note the 
excessively large amount of meat being purchased, 
and consumed by the American people. 

Nearly all these articles of food I have mention¬ 
ed, which have a large sale in our retail stores, are 
acid forming foods, causing a condition of acidosis 
in many -people. These foods are eaten in consider¬ 
able quantities, without sufficient off-setting foods, 
causing more or less fermentation and derangement 
of the alimentary tract, and can be easily corrected by 
substituting plain, wholesome food, rich in vitamines 
and mineral salts, as shown in the vitamine table. 

We should discard baker’s white bread from our 
dietary. Its food value is not great as it has been 
robbed of most of the wheat’s most valuable proper¬ 
ties by the miller’s bolting cloths. In its place, we 
should substitute whole wheat bread. The cereals 
give us the cheapest and best food to be had. 

When I grind a pound of wheat and produce one 
pound of whole wheat flour, costing two cents, and 
this is made into a loaf of bread, we have the best 
and cheapest food in the world. 


CLOSING SURVEY 


215 


Everyone should use more Shredded Wheat 
Biscuits. They contain all the nourishing and life 
giving elements of wheat ready to be consumed. 

I cannot recommend too highly the addition of 
Ry-Krisps Crackers to our daily menu. Like shred¬ 
ded wheat they are already baked and ready for use, 
and not at all expensive. The entire kernel of rye is 
ground and used in making these crackers, which are 
large and thin, by a firm in Minneapolis, and for 
sale by most grocers. 

Whole wheat bread and Ry-Krisps are recom¬ 
mended for general use by our highest medical au- 
thorities. 

A coated tongue shows this acid, fermented con¬ 
dition, due to eating too large quantities of food, and 
especially this acid forming food. This condition of 
acidosis with more or less fermentation and belching 
of gas, should be stopped. The drinking of two or 
three cups of hot water will sometimes relieve a per¬ 
son, other cases require a seidlitz powder to neutral¬ 
ize the acid condition and flush the alimentary tract. 
Give the stomach a thorough rest, and then use great 
care in eating plain, wholesome food. 

If this attack of indigestion is more serious and 
the above simple suggestions do not relieve you, then 
call your physician, but after he has restored you to 
health, do not expect to remain well unless you reform 


216 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

your diet' for the dietetic sins that brought on your 
present condition will cause a return of your former 
disease and if long continued, is very liable to result 
in a far more serious condition. 

I have spent considerable time in research before 
writing this book. During this time, I have had a 
number of valuable suggestions and quite a number 
of questions asked me. Not long ago, one of my pa¬ 
tients asked me this question: “Dr. Brunson, are 
you foolish enough to think you can live a hundred 
years?” My answer was this: “Oh, no, I have no 
expectation of doing this. I was groping in the dark¬ 
ness of ignorance for too many years, and during 
this time I injured my stomach and other vital or¬ 
gans far too much to ever hope to live a hundred 
years. But I can assure you that in the few years* 
experience I have had since I discovered the proper 
way to live, it has already added to my number of 
years. And (what is still more valuable to me,) it 
has added much to my general health. It has also 
increased my efficiency and makes me enjoy my work, 
my meals and the very fact of living; and while I 
do not expect to live to the century mark, I am pos¬ 
itive that the scientific knowledge in this book will 
enable many boys and girls to start right living when 
young, and I haven’t a doubt that they will at least 
reach the century mark.” 


CLOSING SURVEY 


217 


I have had unusual opportunity to study this sub¬ 
ject and I feel it my duty to give this knowledge to 
the world, and thus help to spread the gospel of good 
health. 

Another question from an old, retired physician 
was this: When he asked me if I was writing a 
book and I said yes, he replied: “Why, Dr. Brun¬ 
son, I would not write a book for a million dollars. 
There is too much work about it and I think, Dr. Brun¬ 
son, you will find you have undertaken a considerable 
task before it is completed.” I often recall these 
words of my friend and think how full of wisdom 
this man was, from his long experience. 

The food we eat is the most important thing in 
life. One author states the fact this way: “Tell 
me what you eat, your habits of life, exercise, etc., 
and elimination, and I will tell you about how long 
you will live, what your efficiency will be, how free 
you will be from pain and disease, and how much 
more you will get out of life.” The food you eat 
simply spells out your physical condition while your 
health is one of the most important things you must 
guard as you pass through life. Every day that we 
can eat three meals, sleep well and be free from pain, 
is a blessing for which we ought to return thanks to 
the Giver of All, and nearly all of us can attain this 


218 


HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 


condition if we will follow the teachings found in this 
book. 

The bad effects of wrong eating and living do not 
show themselves immediately. Sometimes it takes 
months and years before our health is undermined, 
and premature old age brought on. This is one rea¬ 
son why many people do not fully appreciate the im¬ 
portance of right living. The Lord, when he made 
us, in His infinite wisdom, gave us remarkable power 
to adapt ourselves to tolerate many conditions, some of 
which are contrary to our well being. In other words, 
nature tries to adapt herself to the habits of life and the 
food we eat, which are not for our own good or health. 
She tries to put up with the abuses and poisons that we 
take into the human system. 

The people who use tobacco and narcotics to ex¬ 
cess, do not die immediately, for their systems are 
trying to get rid of all these poisons and to adjust 
themselves to the unfavorable conditions and abuses, 
but at the same time these unwise habits are zvearing 
out the human machinery night and day. We might 
compare it to a malicious person who pours carbo¬ 
rundum dust into the oil can and the engineer, wholly 
ignorant of its condition, pours this oil into the great 
engine and machinery. The engine and machinerv 
does not stop, they look all right on the outside, they 
continue to run, but after a time an expert mechanic 


CLOSING SURVEY 


219' 


finds they do not run properly and discovers that the 
bearings are being worn out, and the machine is prac¬ 
tically ruined, or at least its years of usefulness are 
greatly curtailed. Carrying out this same simile, you 
can readily see how thousands of people are pouring 
carborundum into the oil and food they take into 
their own systems, and slowly, but surely, wearing 
out their vital organs and bringing on disease and pre¬ 
mature old age. 

If some one whose power and authority was un¬ 
disputed, should tell us that we can have but one 
automobile in our lifetime, how careful we would 
be in the caring for that automobile. At the present 
time if our automobile becomes worn out, or partly 
worn and disabled, we can sell it or trade it in and get 
a new one, providing we have the means or the credit 
to do so; but under this example, what I am now trying 
to impress upon my reader is, let us suppose that the au¬ 
tomobile was to be the only one we could have during 
our lifetime. If we have but one automobile, how 
careful we would be in keeping it in good running 
order. We would certainly see that the cylinders 
were ground; that every part was kept well oiled. If 
any of the parts became a little loose or rattled, or 
if there was any knocking about our work, we would 
attend to it at once, because we know from experience 
that our automobile will be of no use to us, if an y 


220 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

one of its many parts become worn out or disabled 
so it will not perform its part of the work in the 
machinery of the automobile. 

Now, with the human body, we are given but one 
body for our lifetime. The human body is far more 
delicate and complicated than any automobile that was 
ever built, and yet how careless most people are in the 
caring for this physical temple, which the Lord has 
given us for our special use; and many people will 
persist in disobeying the great laws of health, bringing 
on disease, pain and premature old age. Kor instance, 
they will continue abusing their stomachs by eating 
great quantities of very rich food, or in many other 
ways, in which they misuse this organ which is so 
necessary to our vital existence. 

This same thought can be applied to the kidneys 
and other organs as well. If we persist in eating 
large quantities of meats, or excessive amounts of 
sweets and cane sugar, we may rest assured it will not 
be many years until the kidneys or the pancreas give 
way under this excessive amount of work which they 
are called upon to do, and then the patient will be 
afflicted with Bright’s disease or diabetes or some other 
serious chronic malady from which he will never be 
able to see a real well day afterwards. All the blood 
should pass through the kidneys every 7 minutes. 
Remember these vital organs of the human machine 


CLOSING SURVEY 


221 


are very delicate and cannot be replaced the same as 
we can replace the cylinders or some other parts of 
the automobile that may have become worn out. Re¬ 
member, if you take good care of your stomach you 
have entered into partnership with the other vital or¬ 
gans which can never be dissolved, so don’t have any 
dispute or quarrels with your stomach, because, rest 
assured, it will surely have the last word; and I wish 
you luck for all you get out of life if you have perma¬ 
nently injured these vital organs, I care not how much 
money you have or what position you have in life. 

Not great riches, but a competence for old age 
adds to the length of life,—removes the dread of de- 
pendency in old age. 

A wise use of money has much to do with our 
happiness or misery in this world. If possible, at 
least one-fourth of our income should be saved for old 
age and needs that may arise from many sources. 

When their automobile knocks or rattles or 
squeaks, most people hasten to remedy the condition, 
knowing full well what the results will be if they do 
not look after those troubles, even though the auto¬ 
mobile continues to run. Unless these evils are cor¬ 
rected it will soon wear out and yet these same peo¬ 
ple who are so careful of their automobiles will con¬ 
tinue their practice of unhealthy eating and habits of 
life, and when nature in its mute way tries to ac- 


222 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

quaint us of our condition by headaches and other 
symptoms of lowered vitality and health, they are 
given little attention, but instead they visit the doctor 
or the drug store and think that drugs will bring 
back perfect health and life. It may temporarily 
stimulate wholly over-worked organs of the body, but 
let me warn you no permanent improvement will come 
until the habits of right living are adopted. Pain 
is nature’s great signal of distress, which should al¬ 
ways have our immediate attention , and the wrong 
conditions corrected. 

Understand me; I am not opposed to medicine. 
We often need it, and must have it, to tide over the 
crisis, and to correct many of our wrong habits of 
living and environment, but on the other hand do not 
deceive yourself in the thought that a continual drug¬ 
ging habit will give you health, when you don’t ob¬ 
serve the correct laws of health as you will find them 
in this book. 

PTOMAINE POISONING 

Ptomaine poisoning is nearly always caused by 
eating nitrogenous or protein foods in which decom¬ 
position has already begun. It most often follows 
eating oysters, canned goods, cold storage turkeys and 
meats. 


CLOSING SURVEY 


223 


If treated promptly, the results are usually not 
serious, but if neglected, and a large amount has been 
taken into the system, it often causes so much fermen¬ 
tation and distention of the stomach that it stops the 
heart beating. The surest and best treatment is an im¬ 
mediate emetic. I consider common, fresh mustard the 
most simple, safe and quick emetic I know of. One 
teaspoon of fresh mustard, stirred in a pint bowl of 
tepid water and drank quickly will cause an emetic 
result inside of two or three minutes. If the mustard 
is not fresh, and has been exposed to the air and part¬ 
ly lost its strength, a second dose can be taken within 
five or ten minutes with perfect safety. This remedy 
should be applied at the first symptoms, sick stomach, 
and general pain and depression. If the stomach 
is emptied early in the attack, the emetic may be 
followed by drinking plenty of hot water, followed 
by a mild laxative. 

If ptomaine poison is not immediately removed, it 
passes through the entire thirty feet of the alimentary 
tract and more or less of the poisons are absorbed 
causing a great deal of physical depression, increasing 
the danger of the attack and lengthening the time of 
recovery, which often requires weeks. 

On one of my trips to California a number of 
years ago, I saved a young lady’s life, on the Golden 


224 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

State Limited train on the Rock Island R. R., by hav¬ 
ing some of this mustard with me and by giving her 
some stimulants afterwards. She had eaten oysters 
at Colorado Springs just before entering our train and 
was very ill. With this treatment, she soon recovered, 
but without it, it is quite likely she would have died 
before morning, as she had a very severe attack. I 
never travel without having a small quantity of fresh 
mustard, in the original box, which has not been opened 
and exposed to the air. It should be kept in every 
household. It may be found of great value in any 
emergency case in which a child, for instance, 
has accidentally swallowed some poison and an 
immediate emetic effect is desired, avoiding the 
danger of serious delay until a physician can arrive. 
Give this emetic and if the case is serious, call your 
physician immediately and he will give whatever other 
treatment is needed. 

Ptomaine poisoning was the cause of the death of 
President Harding. Tainted crab meat was the cause 
of his illness, which soon ended in death. Crabs are 
the turkey buzzards of the sea, and their principal 
food is dead fish. Crabs are so thoroughly infected 
with filthy germs, it is almost impossible to disinfect 
them, and no one well versed in dietetics would think 
of eating them. President Harding was most care¬ 
fully protected from crazed fanatics day and night, 


CLOSING SURVEY 


225 


but there seemed to be no one who thoroughly under¬ 
stood foods, to warn and protect him against a far 
more dangerous enemy—a dead crab. Who is respon¬ 
sible, that a whole nation should mourn the loss of 
such a beloved President? 

The most prevalent illness in the United States 
is the common cold. Remarkable as it may seem, 
the widespread familiarity with this condition has bred 
a contempt which hides its seriousness, yet when the 
sum total of the ravages committed by common colds 
is made, it becomes evident that instead of being a 
group of trivial affections common colds must be 
classed as serious diseases, as they often lead to Pneu¬ 
monia, Tuberculosis and many other serious and dan¬ 
gerous diseases. 

The causes of colds are multiform and not entirely 
derstood. In every case, however, they are depend¬ 
ent upon the growth and activity of living germs 
which are always received from other people. In 
other words, colds are infectious. 

Undue exposure and fatigue lower the vitality of 
the body, and invite the attack of these germs. 

Common colds occur in epidemics and are dis¬ 
tinctly contagious. They sweep through an entire 
household, an entire city, an entire state, attacking 
the young, the adolescent, the middle aged, and fre- 


226 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

quently carrying off the aged, the weak, and the de¬ 
bilitated. 

To prevent colds, the body must be kept at a high 
point of efficiency. Good, wholesome food, in proper 
amounts, plenty of sleep, careful voidance of all body 
wastes, regular exercise in the open air, keeping the 
body, nose and mouth clean, avoiding poorly ventilated 
rooms and sudden changes of temperature, chilling the 
body by either cold or wet; in other words, following 
the laws of health found in this book. 

When a person is attacked by a cold which is at 
all serious, he should call his family physician, go to 
bed and stay there till all acute symptoms subside. 

In order to keep the mind in a normal condition 
and to prevent worry, the following forcible quota¬ 
tions may be of service to my reader: 

“Yesterday is gone forever, forget it.” 

“Tomorrow never comes; don’t worry.” 

“Today is here, use it.” 

Deep religious faith has a powerful influence in 
lengthening life. I cannot find a better example of 
God’s sustaining power than the Rev. Seth Reed, of 
Flint, Michigan. Mark how erect he walks, yet think 
what hardships and work he has experienced and the 
amount of good he has done in spreading the gospel 
of Jesus. 

We look upon this unnecessary shortening and 


CIOSING SURVFY 


227 


waste of life complacently because we are used to it 
and consequently think that it is natural. It is nei¬ 
ther necessary nor natural. If we would read and 
heed nature’s warnings it would cease. Then peo¬ 
ple would live until their time came to fade away 
peacefully and beautifully, as do the golden leaves of 
autumn, or the blades of grss. 

In Dr. Alsaker’s book entitled “Maintaining 
Health,” he writes at length on old age and says: 
“Many dread old age because they think of it in con¬ 
nection with decrepitude, helplessness, and the child¬ 
ish querulousness popularly associated with advanc¬ 
ing years. This is not natural old age, it is a disease. 
Natural old age is sweet, tolerant and cheerful. There 
are few things in life more precious than the memory 
of parents and grandparents grown old gracefully 
after having weathered the storms of appetites and 
passions, the mind firmly enthroned and filled with 
the calm toleration and wisdom that come with the 
passing years of a well spent life. Old age today 
brings to mind a picture of decrepitude and decay. 
This is because there is practically no natural old age. 
Those who live so that they are unhealthy during the 
early years of life will not be well if they reach ad¬ 
vanced years. Old people can be well in body and 
sound in mind. In order to attain this desirable end, 
it is necessary to live properly during the first part of 


228 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

life. It is true that people may dissipate and reform, 
and then live long in comfort, but usually those who 
spend too lavishly destroy their capital and go into 
physical or mental bankruptcy. 

There are many who, during their prime, say that 
they do not wish to grow old. Their desire for a 
short life can easily be satisfied. All that is necessary 
is to live in the conventional manner, and the chance 
of dying before reaching the age of fifty or sixty is 
good. A few live to be seventy or more in spite of 
dissipation, but these are exceptions. They are en¬ 
dowed with excellent constitutions to begin with, 
constitutions that were made to last over one hundred 
years. Where we find one who has lived long in 
spite of intemperance, thousands have died from it. 
Physical and mental well-being are necessary to at¬ 
tain one’s life’s expectancy. Old age should not be con¬ 
sidered as apart from the rest of life. It is but one 
of the natural phases. Those who do not live to be 
old, have failed to live completely. Old age is a de¬ 
sirable condition. The physical tempests have been 
subdued, if the life has been well spent.” 

A proper state of mind or serenity of spirit in the 
last pages, is the spirit with which we should approach 
the closing chapters of life, as I have tried to make the 
closing chapters of my book. 

We must remember that death is inevitable. It 


CIOSING SURVEY 


229 


is a part of God’s Great Plan. It is the bringing on 
of premature old age and death, that I am striving to 
combat. The reckless, prodigal waste and destruction 
of vital organs in this great human machine, the Lord 
has given us, is what I wish to emphasize and call to 
my reader’s attention. The great underlying purpose 
of my spending so much time and energy in writing 
this book, is to get our boys and girls started right, so 
as to keep this human temple, the only one that we 
have in this world, in perfect condition. So that they 
can be of great service and enjoy life and be free from 
pain, instead of being semi-invalids, with pain and dis¬ 
ease, dragging out a miserable existence, not only a 
burden to themselves, but to their friends. To prevent 
life being not worth living, even before they have 
reached what should be middle life. 

The right way to look at death and the hereafter 
is graphically portrayed in the following beautiful fig¬ 
ure of speech: 

“Old age is the outer shore against which dash¬ 
es the sea of Eternity. This sea is calm or tempes¬ 
tuous as we view it. If we look hard down the cliff 
of death, we are shocked at the waves and force of 
collision, but if we look far out on the Sea of Eternity, 
all is calm and tranquil.” 

President McKinley was a great man, but he nev¬ 
er rose to loftier heights than when on his death bed, 


230 HOW TO LIVE A HUNDRED YEARS 

shot down by a crazed fanatic, leaving an invalid wife 
and the highest office the Americn people can give to 
any man, he said, “Thy will, not mine be done/ 

Don’t simply be good, “be good for something.” 
If we want to live right, we must get away from our 
selfishness and try to be of service in our home com¬ 
munity. 

Charity is not all in giving money. Many hearts 
are weary and over-burdened. They need your sym¬ 
pathy and advice. My father said that the day was 
not satisfactory to him unless, at night, he could re¬ 
member some kind words spoken and deeds performed 
during the day. We get from this world largely what 
we bring into it. If we are selfish and cruel, the 
same spirit is aroused in those we meet. If we are 
kind, cheerful and generous, the same spirit comes 
back. 

What can be a sadder sight than when the sands 
of life are slipping to ashes, and the shadows begin 
to lengthen and we catch a glimpse of the sunset glow, 
to find, when too late, that life is a failure. Nothing 
but selfishness, and we die, unwept and unsung. 
When we learn that, “It is more blessed to give than 
to receive,” then our lives will be richer, better and 
sweeter, and we shall live much longer,—even unto “a 
hundred years.” 






























































I 


































































































































































































































































































































































































































